Pull Me in Gently
by UnqualifiedAras
Summary: "Who told you I could tutor you in Latin ballroom?" Izumi soon learns that ballroom can be dangerous if done with one Itachi Uchiha. When asked to be his tutor will she be able to teach him all the right moves? Or will their dance come to an end before it even gets started?
1. Chapter 1

"Excuse me, are you Izumi?"

A girl with long, brown hair turned around slowly from the hall announcements she was helping to staple up on the wall. She dropped the stapler she held and tried to hide the surprise on her face. The man in front of her had to be the most attractive guy she had ever seen. He had chiseled features with light, perfect skin. His eyes were dark and his black hair hung behind his back in a loose ponytail.

He didn't even flinch when she dropped the stapler. Apparently he was used to women acting idiotically around him. Go figure. Izumi rolled her eyes and tried to keep from staring at his handsome features. She really didn't need a popular guy talking to her. It would complicate her life more than she was wanting. She just knew it.

"How can I help you?" She didn't try to hide her sudden disdain for the man in front of her no matter how attractive he was. _Seriously, there's a guy in this world that actually looks like this?_

"My name is Itachi. I heard that you are the person I need to come to for some help with one of my classes." Her eyes opened wide and she reached down for the stapler. Itachi? Why did that name sound slightly familiar? She shook her head and tried to think about the other part of what he said. She was an average student and wasn't particularly awesome in any of her classes. Who the heck would tell him to come to her for help?

"Who told you that?" He seemed a little surprised by her answer but he didn't let it bother him for long.

"Nohara Rin."

"What class?"

"Latin ballroom." She dropped the stapler again. She really needed to stop doing that. Especially since he thought she was the person that was going to help him with his ballroom dance. This was definitely a good way to show him that she lacked any grace. Izumi laughed at her joke.

"Well, I'm not really sure why she told you that I'm the one who is the best choice to help you but I'd love to help out." His face filled with the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. Was he even real? "Now, do you live on campus or off?" His smile faltered and he seemed to be regretting his decision to ask her for help. "I just need to know so we can set up a practice location and stuff." Itachi relaxed and she smiled sweetly.

"I live off campus and my house has a ballroom so we can just practice there. Is that okay?" _His house has a freaking ballroom?_ This kid had to be loaded."Yeah, that's fine. What time should we do this and where do you live?"

"How about five tomorrow? I live at the Uchiha estate. See you then!" She nodded her approval of the time and noted where he lived as she waved goodbye to him. Izumi returned to stapling the rest of the papers on the bulletin board.

Hm, Itachi. He was super cute and she got to dance with him. A definite plus. He also lived at the Uchiha estate which Izumi heard was absolutely gorgeous. The Uchiha estate. _Uchiha_. _Uchiha_ _Itachi_. Izumi's hand stilled as she stapled the last corner. She finally put two and two together. She was tutoring Uchiha Itachi in ballroom dance. The most eligible bachelor in the city.

Izumi clenched the stapler in her hand and turned around brusquely. She dashed as quickly as possible out the door, tossing the stapler on the couch on her way out. There was someone she needed to see. Someone who apparently had a sick sense of humor. And that person happened to be her best friend's cousin.

* * *

Izumi stomped into the student health center where Rin sat at the receptionist desk. She slammed her hand down on the counter and Rin jumped. A small snicker sounded next to the computer and Izumi's best friend Keiko slid her chair out.

"What's the matter Izumi dear?"

"The matter?! You" Izumi pointed at Rin "told Itachi that I could help tutor him in Latin ballroom! Are you kidding me?" Keiko snickered.

"Sorry, I just thought it would be a good opportunity for you. Besides, he's hot and you need to spend sometime with a hot guy. I'm sure that Keiko agrees with me."

"I do, totally."

Izumi huffed. "How did you even?"

Rin shrugged and typed something on the computer. "It was easy. I'm engaged to his cousin so naturally it came up in conversation that he needed a tutor and I thought of you."

"But why? Keiko is the better ballroom dancer!"

Rin smiled mischievously. "That's not true and you know it. Besides I already have plans for Keiko to help someone else with a project."

Keiko sighed. "You're not trying to get me set up with your best friend again are you? Isn't he like way older than me or something?"

"Yeah, but who cares? He's perfect for you."

"Um, guys? Still having a crisis over here!" Izumi slammed her hands on the counter again.

"Okay, okay, calm down love. Just give it a chance. If anything you could get a new friend out of this and that's it. Itachi is a really sweet guy from what I hear and I think this will be good for you to come out of your comfort zone and help someone else." Izumi frowned at Keiko's words but then nodded.

"Okay, I'll give it a shot." Rin and Keiko squealed and grabbed her into a bone crushing hug. _Here goes nothing._

* * *

Izumi knew she was insane the minute she agreed to tutor Itachi. She stood outside of the Uchiha estate with her hands shaking slightly as she reached for the doorbell. It sounded deep within the house and she swallowed whatever nervousness she had down.

The door swung open a few seconds later and a well dressed man with graying dark hair bowed slightly in front of her. He smiled sweetly at her and she returned it. "Hello miss, how can I help you?"

Izumi cleared her throat so her voice would be strong. "Hello, I'm Izumi and I'm here to tutor Itachi in ballroom." Izumi cheered internally that she had managed to speak clearly and without any sort of tremor. She would have to thank Keiko later for making her do all those musicals in high school.

"Ah, of course, he's expecting you. Right this way Miss Izumi." The butler moved to the side and waited for her to enter. After she did he shut the door and then directed her through the winding hallways of the house.

Izumi stared in awe at all of the ornate decorations around her. It was amazing that one family could have this much wealth. Though, if she was being honest it was a little more understated than she expected. It was beautiful but not over the top. She couldn't help but admire the paintings on her way and wonder the story behind all of them. The Uchiha fan, of course, was on display all around her.

Izumi was an Uchiha but from a different family. Hers was more modest in profession and attitude. But they did display the fan all over their houses as well. She felt more at home with the fan on the wall then she did before. Izumi took a deep breath and wiped her palms on her legs. This wasn't going to be too hard. Dancing was fun and this time she could set the pace and everything would be okay.

They rounded the corner and the butler motioned to the ballroom. "Thank you sir. Uh, sir. . . what do I call you?"

The butler chuckled and dropped his hand slightly. "My name is Franklin. You can just call me Frank."

"Perfect. Well, thank you Frank." She smiled brightly at him. He nodded and turned back down the hallway. Izumi turned and saw Itachi sitting on the front of a stage area with his dance shoes on scrolling through his phone.

He looked up at her as she made her way into the room. Okay, she would be fine if those impossibly deep, black eyes didn't look at her too long. She might just melt. Izumi took a deep breath to push that thought out of her head and to make sure that she was ready for this. It had been only a few months since she had taken the class that Itachi needed help with. She could distinctly remember the steps for the dances. There were only two dances thank goodness.

"Good evening Izumi."

"Evening. How was your day?" Izumi almost slapped her self for being so casual but she needed to get her mind off the the dance instruction as much as possible so she decided to try a little small talk.

"Good. I only have two classes on Fridays so I have more time to study. But one of my business classes has a project due and I have a paper in my philosophy class."

Izumi took a seat on the floor and pulled her shoes out of her backpack. She had come from the library herself so she had all of her books. "Wow, that sounds like quite a heavy load. What's your major?"

"I'm majoring in Business with a minor in philosophy and political science."

Izumi finished putting on her shoes and stood up. She stared at him for a few seconds. "Dang, you sound really smart and motivated. What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Itachi shrugged. "I'm not completely sure. My father wants me to eventually take over the company and I might do that but I wanted to make sure that I understood all sorts of things."

"My best friend's cousin said you were a genius once and now I believe her."

Itachi blushed a slight amount. "What's your major?"

"Sociology and then I'm going to get a masters in social work."

Itachi froze in his spot. He scrutinized her for a few seconds. She did seem to be someone that was insanely loving and kind. After all, she had agreed to help him after only talking to him for a few minutes. "That is a very noble career path. Why did you choose it?"

Izumi laughed as she stretched a tiny amount of her legs and opened her dance book to review the steps. "I really want to help people if I can. My father is determined to help those around him as much as possible. My mother always taught me that if I saw someone in need I needed to help. It just seemed like the most logical move for me." Itachi nodded.

"Okay, so where are you at in class and what exactly do you need help with?"

"We have finished the Rumba and we are about halfway through the Samba. My teacher says that I'm too stiff in my dancing and that I need to learn how to do the steps correctly and on the right time but with the right feeling. We have a small dance competition next week for the Rumba. My partner is really good."

"I see. Well, let's start by reviewing the Rumba so I can see your dancing for myself."

Itachi nodded and turned on the music he had selected on his phone. He obviously had found music to practice to with his partner. He grabbed Izumi's hand and started the dance. Izumi followed his every movement. He was unbelievably stiff. He didn't move his hips once. She could see the concentration on his face. He seemed to be trying incredibly too hard to not mess up. She stifled the giggle that threatened to come out of her.

Izumi concentrated on her part and got lost in the dance for a few minutes. Itachi might have been stiff and definitely counting in his head but he was surprisingly easy to dance with. His hand hold was gentle but firm enough to direct her where she needed to be. Izumi found herself being transported into the dance. It was probably a good thing that he was stiff. If he wasn't there might be a little too much chemistry between the two of them.

The song ended and the two of them bowed a little before stepping back from each other. Izumi opened her mouth to speak but Itachi beat her to it. "Wow, Rin was right. You really are a fantastic dancer."

Izumi involuntarily blushed. "Thank you. I was going to say the same about you. I can definitely tell what your teacher was talking about but in general you are not that far from being an amazing dancer."

"Thank you."

"All right, first things first. Stop thinking so hard."

"Excuse me?" Itachi put his hands behind his back and regarded her with confusion.

"You think too much. I can literally see the counting behind your eyes. Dancing is about feeling the music and moving along with it. You are very smart and do all the steps and counts perfectly but the person that is going to win the competitions, and the person that it going to get the best grade in the class, is the person that can do both."

"I see. So what do I do then? I can't turn my brain off."

Izumi laughed. She grabbed his hands and got them ready for the first few steps. "We are going to start again from the beginning and I'm going to talk the whole time we do so. You know these steps and you can multitask. You need to respond to me, okay? We will do this until I feel like you are focusing more on me than on the steps."

Itachi nodded and then swallowed. He looked nervous and Izumi noticed that all of her nervousness was gone. Itachi was a surprisingly easy person to be around. They started the first step./

"So, why are you taking ballroom dance and why do you need a tutor?"

"Uh. . ." Itachi looked down at his feet for a few seconds. "Business. My father wants. . ." He stepped a little hesitantly. Izumi watched everything. "He wants me to be able to participate fully in events with business partners. I want to make sure that I'm exceptional. . . so as to not. . . as to not. . . embarrass the family." He spun her around and didn't have to count at all. Izumi slightly rolled her eyes. This was going to take a while.

"I see. I took it because my best friend wanted to and we decided it was more fun together. We actually are pretty good. No, it's the separate sequence now. We are both in the second level now." Itachi furrowed his brow as he tried to listen to Izumi speak but he had already forgotten a step or two. She kept following him regardless.

"I see. And who is your best friend?" Izumi pulled on Itachi's hand so that he went back into the first step.

"Keiko Nohara. Her cousin is Rin. You know, the one that's engaged to Obito to told you about me." Itachi nodded as he stopped the dance. They had finally reached the end.

Izumi looked him up and down in a teasing manner. "Well that wasn't too bad."

"Are you kidding? That was a train wreck. Even I could tell that."

"I just wanted to let you down gently." Izumi laughed. "Okay, it was awful. I'm not even sure that the full sentence you gave me even made sense. But we have time to work through it. Let's go again."

Izumi and Itachi practiced the Rumba for an hour and a half with Izumi trying to hold a conversation as Itachi tried not to think too hard. She talked about her major and her favorite classes. She asked him about his family and found out that his best friend was his cousin and that he adored his little brother.

Just before seven as they were going through the Rumba for the umpteenth time Frank entered the ballroom and cleared his throat. "Excuse me Master Itachi but it is dinner time."

"Thank you Frank." Frank bowed and disappeared around the corner again.

Itachi slowly dropped his hands from Izumi's. She had to admit that she liked the feel of his hands around hers. Izumi shook her head vigorously. She really needed to get a boyfriend if these were the thoughts going through her head as she was tutoring.

"Am I getting any better?" Itachi seemed depressed. It was odd that he was so upset about his dance class. It wasn't like he was failing it or anything.

"Yep. We just managed to have quite a decent conversation about Sasuke and still get the steps right. Anyway, I should probably be heading out."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, you have dinner right now and I'm sure Keiko has something planned for tonight."

"Why don't you stay for dinner? It's the least I can do since you're tutoring me and spending all this time trying to get me to feel the music."

Izumi thought about it for a few minutes. Dinner actually would be marvelous. She was starving and Keiko was probably studying still so she would just grab something quick on the way.

"That would actually be really great. Thanks." Izumi smiled brightly and Itachi returned it. The two of them changed their shoes and Izumi grabbed her backpack and they headed through the maze of hallways to the dining room.

"My mother insists on family dinners everyday. She doesn't really care if other people join. Sasuke usually has Naruto or Sakura over. My friend Kisame has stayed a few times. Don't be nervous."

"I'm not that nervous actually. It's probably because I just realized that I could literally eat a feast." Itachi laughed.

"Well I hope our food is satisfactory."

"I'm sure it is."

They reached the dining room that was pretty close to the front door so Izumi rested her backpack against a wall out of the way. Itachi lead her into the dining room where his parents were already sitting. His father was at the head of the table with his mother on the left . Next to her was Sasuke and a boy with bright blonde hair who Izumi assumed was Naruto.

Itachi took the seat to the right of his father and Izumi sat next to him. Mikoto's eyes brightened at the sight of her and a smile overtook her face. "Oh my! Who is this beautiful girl? Itachi never brings girls to dinner."

Izumi smiled and tried her best not to laugh. Mikoto was just like a teenager. She reminded Izumi of Rin. "I'm Izumi. I'm just here because I'm tutoring Itachi in ballroom."

Sasuke snorted. "You need a tutor for a dance class? Pathetic."

"Actually he's really good but he needs a little help at becoming the best." Itachi leaned over and whispered a thanks in Izumi's ear. Mikoto watched the whole thing and squealed in excitement.

"I'm Naruto by the way. Since no one wants to introduce me. Darn Uchihas. So rude." Sasuke rolled his eyes and Izumi chuckled.

"Hello Naruto. It's very nice to meet you. You remind me of Obito." The whole table burst into laughter.

"Obito is such a cool guy! Thanks!"

"No problem."

"So you're acquainted with my nephew?" Fugaku asked as he began eating. Izumi hungrily tore into her own plate as soon as she noticed everyone else. She quickly took a drink of water before she answered.

"Yes. My best friend is Rin's cousin. I've spent quite a lot of time with them. Obito is crazy but a good guy."

"He is indeed. So, Sasuke how is the season starting out? I know it's February but you've had a few games so far."

Izumi continued eating as the conversation turned to Sasuke and Itachi's lives and what was going on. Izumi soaked everything in as she watched their cheerful interactions. Well, cheerful to a point. Fugaku was grumpy no matter the topic. But they all treated Naruto with love and there was a lot of laughter from everyone else. Soon dinner was over and Izumi picked up her backpack to head out.

"Oh, Izumi dear, make sure that you come to dinner every time you tutor Itachi, okay?"

"Okay, Mrs. Uchiha. Thank you." Izumi smiled and soon arrived at the door. "Thank you Frank."

"My pleasure Miss Izumi." He opened the door for her and just as she was about to step outside Itachi stopped her.

"Izumi, how about we do five o'clock everyday? Except maybe Sundays? Let's exchange numbers in case something changes."

Izumi handed over her phone and took his. "Five works for me but I'll let you know if something comes up."

"Perfect. See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Izumi left the mansion and booked it as fast as her feet could carry her to her apartment. Keiko sat on the couch with some sort of craft project in her lap and the TV on a chick flick. Izumi ungracefully flopped onto the couch and dropped her backpack on the floor.

"Hey, how was it?"

"Kei, he's so nice and their family is so nice. I really hope that after this we continue to stay close."

"I'm sure that won't be too hard. You know our families are all connected I'm sure it will be a cinch to stay in contact."

"True." Izumi opened her eyes and looked at the screen. "So what's on the docket for tonight?"

"Apparently Sasori, Deidara, and a few others are going to an escape room. You in?"

"Honestly? I'm not really feeling it. You?"

"I was thinking that we just do our own thing tonight. Rin is trying on wedding dresses tomorrow so we'll be pretty busy."

"I forgot about that. Yeah, let's just do homework and watch movies."

"Done."


	2. Chapter 2

**Pull Me in Gently**

 _Chapter 2_

* * *

"Ugh, why do we have to do the Rumba against the two of you losers, yeah?" Deidara shoved a fry into his mouth as Keiko nodded and Izumi giggled. Sasori glared at him as he took a drink of water.

"Because you need to see what good ballroom dancing is. No offense Keiko. You're amazing and perfect and understand art. Unlike this girly headed freak."

"Okay, okay, calm down. We don't want to have another lunch ruined because of your arguments about art do we?" Keiko placed her hand on Deidara's chest to prevent him from strangling Sasori as Izumi set her hand gently on Sasori's thigh.

"Fine, whatever." Deidara rolled his eyes and folded his arms. Keiko shook her head and turned her attention to Izumi.

"Are you ready for more tutoring?" Keiko wiggled her eyebrows and Izumi almost dropped her burger in surprise.

"Shut up Kei."

"What? I was just seeing if you were excited or not. I guess the answer is not. Rin is not going to like this." Izumi watched as Deidara and Sasori both perked up at the two girls conversation. _Oh no. Here it comes._

"You're tutoring someone?" Sasori tilted his head as he continued to eat.

"Yeah, he needed help in ballroom and Rin volunteered me."

"Really now. This is getting interesting, yeah." Deidara sat up again and placed his arm around the back of Keiko's chair and grabbed his bottle of soda. "Who is the lucky guy?"

"Itachi Uchiha." Izumi looked down at her plate dejected. Sasori's eyes got wider and Deidara choked on his drink.

"Itachi? Seriously? What's he doing in a dance class?"

Izumi furrowed her brows and looked at Sasori. "Do you know him or something?"

"Heck yeah we know him. He's one of our friends, yeah."

"Wait wait wait. You two are friends with the most eligible bachelor in the city and you never mentioned this before because?" Keiko turned to Deidara. Izumi was grateful she was here so that she could ask questions.

"Because you can do a whole lot better than Itachi Uchiha."

"But we know all your close friends. We've never met him before." Izumi asked as she watched Sasori and Deidara roll their eyes.

"Do you remember that friend that I told you I have but he's always ridiculously busy and MIA? Yeah?" Izumi nodded. "That's Itachi. Not to mention he's so philosophical and quiet we usually piss him off with our fighting so he mainly hangs around Kisame."

Izumi looked down at her half eaten burger and contemplated what they had just told her. So they were good friends with Itachi. What were the chances?

"Hm, weird. You too have such an odd group of friends. I don't understand how any of you stand each other to be honest." Deidara poked Keiko in the side after her statement and she nudged him with her elbow.

"We're just awesome, yeah."

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I've got to head to my math class. Do you want to walk me Izumi or do you want to stay with these crazy people?"

"You love us and you know it." Keiko winked and Izumi stuck out her tongue as she grabbed her backpack and threw away her trash. "Don't have too much fun with Itachi this afternoon!"

* * *

Saturday's tutoring session was much the same as Friday's. Itachi was getting better and better about feeling the dance itself so they added in music. By dinnertime he was able to hold a conversation and still dance everything well. Izumi was extremely pleased when she left.

Now it was Monday and Izumi was a little nervous that Itachi would have forgotten everything that he needed to remember. Frank opened the door and greeted her with a smile. He had become more and more relaxed around her the more she came.

"Good evening Frank. How are you this beautiful night?" Izumi smiled and bowed a little comically.

"Oh, Miss Izumi I was terrible until you walked in the door. Now I am relaxed and happy. I shall be able to take care of the house now without feeling melancholy. Izumi giggled and continued walking with him towards the ballroom.

"Well that makes me feel happier indeed. How is the rest of the Uchiha family?"

"Fugaku is grumpy as usual but doing well. Mikoto has been fussing all day about a few upcoming events and Sasuke has been trying to avoid Naruto all day because he's hanging out with Sakura. I'm sure you'll inquire about Mister Itachi directly." She nodded as the door to the ballroom came into view.

"As always Frank your company is much appreciated."

"The pleasure is all mine." Izumi smiled as Frank bowed and turned back down the hallway.

Izumi was first in the ballroom today and decided to actually stretch since she had the time. Her ballroom class was going over the Samba and this week they would be competing. Her dance partner was Sasori and Keiko was competing with Deidara. Izumi thought back to her lunchtime discussion and couldn't help but shake her head at how small the world was.

Izumi sat on the floor with her legs spread and her body leaning over to the right. Itachi walked in the room and chuckled as he sat down in front of her. He leaned his head to the side to match it up with hers. "Hello Izumi. I heard that you've met a few of my friends."

Izumi straightened up and pulled her legs under her. "I have indeed. I'm dancing with Sasori and Keiko is dancing with Deidara. I must say I would not peg them as your friends. The three of you seem very different."

Itachi chuckled as he helped her to her feet. "We are. We went to the same soccer camp during the summer and we were roommates. I guess we just got along somehow. They are very artistic."

"Oh, I've noticed! Sasori was talking to me the other day about his major and I could not believe that our university even had a puppeteer program. But he showed me some of his stuff and it's actually really good."

"At least he doesn't try to light fireworks in all of them like Deidara does with his statues every six months."

Izumi laughed. "Yeah, Keiko has had the pleasure of being there for that. She told me that she already promised to come to the next one too."

Itachi laughed and plugged in his phone. Izumi discretely watched him as she pulled out the dance book to make sure she could remember all the steps. He was wearing a dark blue shirt with jeans and his hair was pulled back in his classic ponytail. It looked so soft and he looked so good in that shade of blue.

She would be lying if she denied that she thought about him all weekend. After their session on Saturday she went home to an empty apartment. She finished some homework to get ahead in some of her classes and then went to bed early. The whole time thinking about everything that happened in their sessions. Sunday she spent the evening watching movies with Rin, Obito, and Keiko. During the films she couldn't help but wonder what Itachi was doing.

Without her noticing he turned around and looked at her. "Izumi?"

She jumped. "Yep?"

"You ready to get started? What are we doing today?"

Izumi took a deep breath to clear her head and smiled. "We are going to start with the same exercise from last week. Just to see if you're still loose. Then we are going to work on those hips. Especially since you have the mini competition this week. Did your teacher say anything to you today?"

"My teacher said that I was very improved and seemed to be more relaxed when it came to the dances. But mainly the Rumba. My Samba is still all over the place but we are finishing the dance next week."

Izumi nodded. "Cool, let's dance."

Itachi turned on the music and he grabbed Izumi. "How was the rest of your weekend?"

"It was good. My family had a big family brunch on Sunday with all the branches of the family. Obito asked me how I liked you as my new tutor. Then I just did homework and relaxed."

"That sounds nice."

"How about you?" Itachi spun Izumi and their dance sequence started over.

"It was good. I just relaxed for the most part which was awesome since this week we have the dance competition and then I have midterms and several papers coming up."

Itachi nodded along with her words and then swallowed a few times. It looked like he had something difficult to tell her. Izumi instantly felt nervous. What could he possibly have to say that would make him act this way?

"Izumi, I have something to confess."

Oh crap. What was with that word choice. Confess? What would he have to confess to her? Was he starting to crush on her too? Wait, she wasn't crushing on him. "Oh?"

"I lied to you about my reasons for wanting to be tutored. I said that it was to not embarrass my family. It's really because I have a crush on a girl in my class named Megumi. She's my dance partner for this week and I really wanted to impress her with my skills. Is that terrible?"

Izumi's heart sank and she ignored it. There was no way she was crushing on him to begin with. "No, that's not terrible and when I'm done with you she is going to be so in love she is going to ask you out herself."

Itachi's smile filled his whole face and Izumi's heart fluttered. So there was a girl he liked. That was fine. She could help him get her and then they could stay casual friends. The semester wouldn't be that long and then there would be summer. That was plenty of time for her to spend time with other guys and date. Right? Yeah, right. She barely dated as it was. And she wasn't even crushing on Itachi in the first place.

The song ended and Izumi smiled at Itachi. "I think you are ready for the next step. You did that flawlessly while talking so you are able to still do the dance without concentrating too hard. Now I'm going to throw something else in."

"Okay, what is it?"

"Hips."

Itachi's eyes widened slightly and he stared at Izumi without even blinking. Izumi full on laughed. "Oh, calm down. It's not that scary I know that they went over what your hips should be doing in class."

"They did but I didn't really understand what they were saying so I kind of just forgot about it."

"I can tell." Izumi slowly moved closer to Itachi until she was almost invading his space. She took his hands in hers in front of her. "It's simple. All you're doing is making a figure eight but with your hips. Watch." Izumi kept her eyes on Itachi as she slowly moved her hips in the right formation. The intensity of Itachi's gaze burned through her and a very faint blush rose to her cheeks.

"See?"

"Yeah. But I can't do that."

"Yes you can. It's not physically impossible."

Izumi let go of his hands and placed hers on his hips. She heard his breath hitch minutely and she tried to calm her frantically beating heart. She moved his hips around as best she could. Itachi fought it and they moved stiffly and awkwardly.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. Take a deep breath and close your eyes." Itachi complied and she was able to move his hips a little better but they were still awkward. Izumi sighed. She had to think of a way to get it through his head what they were doing.

"It's no use. I still don't understand how this is supposed to feel and what I'm supposed to be doing."

"Okay, let's switch." Izumi grabbed his hands and placed them gently on her hips. She could feel Itachi's elevated pulse but he made no sign that this contact was effecting him. Izumi was sure that he could hear her heart beating as it threatened to rip out of her chest.

"Feel how my hips move and then think about how to make your hips do that. Got it?"

"Got it."

Izumi moved her hips in the figure eight formation. She did a few rotations and noticed that the more she moved Itachi subconsciously pulled her closer. Soon they were almost nose to nose.

"Do you see how it works now?"

"I think so."

"You ready to try then?" Itachi nodded and she placed her hands back on his hips and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She moved his hips and he was actually doing it correctly. Izumi smiled and looked up at him. He opened his eyes and smiled down at her.

A cough echoed through the ballroom and the two of them turned their heads to see Sasuke and Sakura standing in the doorway. Sakura was a bright red and Sasuke looked slightly shell shocked and disgusted. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all little brother." Itachi stepped back and Izumi's hands fell awkwardly off of his hips. "What do you need?"

"We are heading out now for the opening of the museum on campus. Father wanted me to fetch you. I hope you didn't forget."

Itachi looked at Izumi for half a second. "I did actually forget. I'll be in the car in five minutes." Sasuke turned on his heel and pulled Sakura with him. Izumi sighed. That was such an awkward time to be interrupted by someone.

"I'm deeply sorry but it seems that I have somewhere I have to be. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow?" Itachi spoke as he changed his shoes quickly. Izumi followed suit. Good thing she was wearing slip on boots today.

"Of course. You are progressing nicely and by Friday you will be ready to rock the Rumba." She smiled at him and then made her way to the front door as he made his way to the side entrance where the car was parked.

* * *

Izumi entered her apartment expecting it to be empty again. Keiko was pretty busy with projects for her psych class and was always on campus either working on those or working at the student health center. Tonight however she was perched on the couch grumpily eating m&ms with Rin next to her. There were bridal magazines spread all over the floor. Izumi took a seat next to her and immediately took a handful of candy.

"Iz, don't you think that Keiko should give Kakashi a chance and go on a date with him?"

Izumi snorted at the deepening frown on Keiko's face. Rin had been trying to set Kakashi and Keiko up since she was freshman. So, for the last three years they had been having this conversation. "Honestly Rin, I think that they should meet before you try to set them up. It's been years and they always just miss each other. If they were really meant to be together it would just happen."

"Traitor." Keiko angrily stuffed more m&ms in her mouth as the other two women laughed at her. "Anyway, why are you home so early? You were only dancing for like thirty minutes."

Izumi sighed and sank into the couch. Her cheeks heated up at the thought of what had happened at the Uchiha estate. "He had to go to the museum opening with his family so we had to cut it short."

"Girl, something happened. I can see it all over your face. What happened?" Keiko instantly sat up straighter as she looked at Izumi and Rin moved closer.

"I taught him how to do Rumba hips and we had to hold each others hips a few times. While he was watching mine he kept pulling me closer. When we switched so I was holding him there was no personal space and that was how Sasuke found us when he came to get Itachi for the opening."

"No freaking way!" Rin squealed.

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean anything. I definitely don't like him like that and he has a girl in his dance class that he's interested in and he wants the dance help so he can impress her. It was probably just the heat of the moment type of thing."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Keiko stated as she gave a knowing look to Rin. There was something else going on but they weren't going to push it.

"So, back to Keiko and Kakashi." Keiko rolled her eyes as Izumi laughed and stole her bowl of m&ms.


	3. Chapter 3

**Pull Me in Gently**

 _Chapter 3_

* * *

 _ **From: Itachi Uchiha**_

 _I will not be able to practice today. I am practicing with Megumi for Friday. I am still available for Wednesday. Does that work for you?_

 _ **From:** **Izumi Uchiha**_

 _That's fine! We can still meet up on Wednesday. Also, if you want me to watch the two of you before you perform I can. We can do that on Thursday._

 _ **From:** **Itachi Uchiha**_

 _That might be a good idea. I'll ask Megumi what works for her._

* * *

Wednesday rolled on and Izumi was currently laughing at the disgruntled look on Itachi's face. He tried to do the Rumba while keeping a steady movement in his hips. He concentrated impossibly hard as they stepped in time and spun.

"Itachi, don't think too much. Remember that the steps are important but you also need to relax. Just think about your hips being an extension of the movement."

"Izumi, I just don't understand."

"Okay, let's try this." Izumi turned music on and grabbed Itachi's hands. "Okay, just sway with me to the music."

Itachi complied and stared at her as the music played in the background. The two of them swayed slowly feeling the music. "Now, move your hips." They both began swinging their hips in the figure eight formation they had been doing on Monday. "Whenever you want to begin just start leading me into the dance."

After a few more seconds of just moving their hips Itachi slowly slid his hands from the grip on both of hers and pushed her forward. They slowly transitioned into the Rumba. Itachi was perfectly moving his hips in time to the music and Izumi couldn't help but stare in his eyes. They were moving in perfect harmony together.

Izumi could hardly believe what was happening. It had not even been a week and they were already in perfect sync. It took her at least a month to get in sync with Sasori and whenever she danced with someone else in class it was always jaunty.

But this was something else. It was like they were tied to each other. As they danced they moved impossibly closer. They still kept their perfect dance form but they were moving into a more intimate dance. Itachi kept her gaze and at the end of the song instead of spinning out and bowing they kept their gaze. Itachi slowly brought her arm up and spun her around.

Unbeknownst to them Naruto sneaked in to ask them a question and had managed to enter while they were working on their hips. He recorded the whole thing and planned to send it to Obito at some point. Rin would love to see this. They had told Naruto about their plan after he met Izumi. He agreed that Izumi seemed to be well suited for Itachi. He smiled a foxy grin as he quietly left the room. The two of them were painfully oblivious.

"That was your best dance yet. You are going to steal the competition on Friday." Izumi smiled and took a step back. For a minute she had lost herself in the moment but thankfully she had remembered Itachi's crush on Megumi.

"Well, I have had an excellent tutor." Izumi blushed and moved to pick another song. "By the way, Megumi said she would love to have you observe us tomorrow."

"Awesome! Can't wait. Once more from the top."

* * *

Izumi sat on the floor against the wall. She had agreed to help Itachi and Megumi with their dance performance for the competition tomorrow but as soon as they agreed she began regretting her choice. Izumi hadn't wanted to observe them herself since she knew she would be too much into her own thoughts just watching them dance. She was sure that she would be admiring Itachi a little too much and the thought of him dancing with someone else wasn't quite sitting right with her.

Her first thought after Itachi agreed to being observed was to invite Keiko but her and Deidara were practicing so she asked Sasori. He happily complied since it gave him an opportunity to see Itachi. Okay, the real reason he agreed was because observing and criticizing art was like second nature to him. And this time he could do it to perfect little Itachi.

Izumi folded her arms and spread her legs in front of her. Both her and Sasori were wearing dance shoes in case they needed to explain or demonstrate anything. Megumi and Itachi were quickly running through a few of their trouble spots. Izumi had given them five minutes to practice before they 'performed' for the two of them.

"So, how long have you been dancing with Itachi?"

"About a week. We started last Friday. Why?"

"He looks so relaxed. That is definitely not how I imagined him to be while dancing." Izumi snorted.

"Trust me, he wasn't. Okay, guys, lets see what you got!" Izumi reached over and pressed play on Itachi's phone and watched as the two of them seamlessly started dancing. Izumi watched as Itachi had a ghost of a smile on his lips. Every so often he would whisper something to Megumi and she would giggle. They seemed so happy dancing together.

Izumi sighed. She was supposed to be watching their dance technique not thinking about Itachi's love life. She observed their form. They still seemed awkward. There was too much space between them for the right emotions to come out during the Rumba. There were a few mishaps with footwork and hips but the main thing was connection. Other than that they had a good shot of winning. Even if it was just a warm up for the actual competition in a month.

The song ended and Itachi expertly spun Megumi out and they both bowed to Sasori and her like they were actually being judged. Izumi smiled at them and both her and Sasori clapped politely. Megumi giggled.

"So, how did we do?" Itachi was nervous for their answers. He'd been working hard to impress Megumi and it was working but now the competition made him nervous.

"Sasori, you first. I'm sure it will be much more instructive than mine."

"Fair enough, well, the first thing is that there were several footwork mistakes. You messed up the first turn and the sliding door sequence was messy. You need to review the steps again. But the main thing I'll let Izumi tell you."

"Connection." Itachi furrowed his brows in confusion and Megumi looked at him and then back to Izumi and Sasori.

"Exactly."

"I'm sorry, connection?"

"Yep!" Izumi shot to her feet and moved toward them. Sasori followed quietly. "The connection between the two of you. The Rumba is a dance filled with desire and love and energy. I heard it once described as a vertical representation of a horizontal desire. That's literally the best way I can think of to explain the emotion of it to you."

Itachi's eyes widened at Izumi's words and Megumi blushed so profusely that she was completely red. If she were speaking Izumi knew she would be stuttering. Izumi looked at Sasori who smirked at their reactions. Sure, it was embarrassing but they were going to have to get over it to make the dance look good.

"Can I get an example?" Itachi stuffed his hands into his pants pockets.

"Sure, Sasori?" He was already at the phone picking out a new song. He landed on one and slowly made his way toward Izumi.

He led her into the same dance Itachi and Megumi just did. In their class they were finishing the second level Rumba the next week but they wanted Itachi to really see how he should be doing the dance. Izumi locked her eyes on Sasori's and moved toward him. Soon the two of them were in perfect harmony. Not a step out of place or too much space between them. The intensity of their gazes and the deliberate way they touched each other made the dance completely different.

There was chemistry between them and heat. Itachi could feel it and he was uncomfortable like he was intruding on something intimate. He also felt some other emotion that he couldn't quite place. Like he was revolted that Izumi could even be that intimate with someone else. Wait, someone else? Didn't that imply. . . no. It implied nothing.

Izumi and Sasori ended the dance with an intimate dip instead of a spin. They both smiled at each other and then turned their attention to Megumi and Itachi. "See what we mean by connection?"

"Oh yeah! Let's practice." Megumi punched the air and walked over to Itachi.

The two of them practiced together for an hour. Periodically Izumi or Sasori would chime in with how they could change things. At one point Sasori had even taken Megumi and Izumi took Itachi. The two couples then practiced various levels of connection.

After the hour of rehearsal Izumi and Sasori made their way to the floor again. Itachi and Megumi danced to the same song from the beginning and this time put all of their new connection practice into it. It was a night and day difference. Izumi and Sasori both jumped to their feet and clapped. They were ready for tomorrow.

"I think that the two of you will do fantastic tomorrow. But, I have to ask, what are you wearing for the competition?"

"I have a ruffled black skirt that I'm going to wear with a long sleeved red shirt. Itachi is going to wear black pants with a black shirt and a red tie."

"Safe choices. We'll come and watch you compete as long as you watch us compete in the Samba. We'll be wearing yellow."

"Deal." Izumi smiled at Megumi and then headed out with her. Sasori was staying the night with Itachi and Deidara was going to be joining them as well as Kisame.

Izumi and Megumi walked in silence. Megumi lived in an apartment complex a few streets from Izumi's so they walked most of the way together.

"Hey Izumi, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?"

Megumi stopped on the sidewalk and chewed on her thumb nail. "Do you think it would be okay if I asked Itachi out? I kinda like him and I don't think he sees that. Is that too forward?"

Izumi ignored the sinking feeling in her stomach. "Heck yeah it's okay. I know for a fact that he likes you too and would accept in a heartbeat." Megumi squealed and grabbed Izumi in a tight hug before excitedly running off to her apartment.

Izumi walked slowly the rest of the way to hers and without saying anything to Keiko, showered and slunk into bed. It didn't bother her that Itachi was going to go out with Megumi so why was she acting so weird? Izumi buried her face into her pillow and went over dance steps to silence her mind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Pull Me in Gently**

 _Chapter 4_

* * *

"Wow, this practice competition is actually pretty serious, yeah."

"No kidding, good thing we are going to beat Sasori and Izumi in the Samba." Keiko leaned over Deidara and stuck her tongue out at Izumi.

The group of four were sitting on the stands overlooking the dance floor. They were early to watch Itachi perform. They were to compete an hour after that. Izumi was wearing a yellow dress that had a skirt that flared out when she spun. Sasori was wearing black pants with a black shirt and a yellow tie. They definitely stood out. Keiko had decided to go for a bright orange sweater with a navy blue, ruffled skirt. Deidara was wearing bright orange pants and a white shirt. They stood out as well.

"We'll see about that. I think you will lose just because you're wearing those stupid pants." Sasori countered and Izumi giggled at the frown on Deidara's face. It was all in good fun. They were all in dance for the heck of it and not the need to be the best they could.

 _"Those competing in the Rumba please step onto the floor."_

The four of them cheered as Itachi emerged from backstage with Megumi's hand in his. They looked perfect in their red and black and they took a spot in one of the corners. It was the perfect position to be seen by the judges but also have the right amount of space to dance the way they wanted. No one would interfere with them there.

The music started and Izumi clasped her hands in front of her chest. She was extremely nervous. It had only been a week that she helped him dance but she felt incredibly connected to him. She knew he could perform well but he needed to relax and breathe or he would slip back into being stiff. Sasori looked to his left and noticed Izumi was nervous.

"They've got this. You tutored him well and we saw them last night. If they do what they did yesterday they will be perfectly all right."

"You're right. There's no need to be nervous."

The music started and Izumi could have laughed. It was Itachi's favorite Rumba song. He moved slowly to Megumi and began to dance. The group of four kept their gazes locked on Itachi and Megumi's forms. They had the perfect connection and moved flawlessly. When they finished Izumi stood and cheered. They had definitely moved on. She could feel it.

They only waited for fifteen minutes before the next group of Rumba dancers came out. This was the quarter final round. Itachi and Megumi once again danced flawlessly. They made it to the semi finals and the finals. Izumi clenched Keiko's hand over Deidara and held her breath as they announced the winners of the Rumba.

"Our first place winners in the Rumba are Itachi Uchiha and Megumi Otto." Izumi squealed and the four of them cheered loudly. Izumi was so proud that Itachi won that it didn't matter if she won or not. Seeing his happy expression as he hugged Megumi was enough for her.

"Man, that's awesome for them. Good job Izumi. We should probably head down to the backstage area now." Izumi nodded at Sasori and they made their way down the stands to the waiting area. They were the next dance group to go.

After all four rounds of competition it ended up that Izumi and Sasori won and that Deidara and Keiko took second. They hugged each other and agreed that to celebrate they would go out to eat.

"Okay, guys, I'll meet you outside in a few minutes. I'm gonna find Itachi and congratulate him."

"Don't be too long Iz, we don't want everyone to fill up where we're going."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be quick. Promise." Izumi turned around and made her way through the crowd. She saw Itachi from the dance floor and hoped that he was still in the same direction. After a few minutes of searching someone pulled her arm and she was yanked out of the crowd. Right in front of her was the smiling face of Itachi.

"Congrats on winning!" Izumi instantly flung her arms around him and he squeezed her tightly.

"You too! I've never seen you do the Samba before. That was amazing."

Izumi beamed and pulled away from Itachi. "So what do you have going on now?"

"Actually, Megumi asked me to go on a date with her afterwards to celebrate. We're going out for ice cream and then dancing. In fact, I've gotta go."

"Oh, okay, have fun!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth Itachi was gone. Her smile fell and she made her way out of the room and down the stairs to where everyone was waiting for her. Itachi and her both won and he had gotten a date with Megumi. That was what she wanted. Right?

* * *

The next week Izumi postponed their tutoring sessions. She had midterms in all of her classes and several papers due. She told Itachi it was also because he had done so well in the competition that she decided they needed a little break. Izumi really was busy. Her dance class had also finished the Rumba and was now working on the Paso Doble. Surprise, surprise, Keiko was ripping it up in the Paso and Izumi not so much.

It was now another Monday and Izumi was back at the Uchiha mansion. "Good evening Miss Izumi. How has your last week been?"

"Pretty good Frank. I had lots of school things going on but I managed to survive them all. How have you been?"

Frank thought about it for a few moments with his hand under his chin. "Pretty good. There was a party for the Uchiha corporation this last week that was quite crazy. Also, Master Itachi's girlfriend has been over all week as well. It was quite a change."

Izumi ignored the weird feeling in her stomach. "I bet it was. One again, thank you for your wonderful company." Frank laughed and turned around to head back down the hallway as Izumi entered the ballroom where Megumi and Itachi were running through what looked like the beginning steps of the Samba.

She took a deep breath. "Hey guys! Miss me?"

"Izumi! How have you been?" Megumi excitedly greeted her and Itachi smiled in her direction.

"Pretty good. Glad I'm still alive after last week. So, Samba now eh? Let's see it."

Izumi pressed play on the music and Itachi stumbled through the Samba with Megumi. Izumi snorted. "Okay, let's try without music." They started dancing again and this time it was near perfect. Apparently the music was too much for Itachi. He was concentrating too hard again.

"All right, Itachi. You need to relax again. We'll do the same exercise we did for the Rumba only you'll do it with Megumi."

Itachi nodded as Izumi explained it to Megumi. She nodded as well and then the two of them began to talk as well as they could as they danced. Their steps faltered a few times and more than once they stopped speaking all together.

"Again."

Izumi made them start over and over again. It was like they weren't even trying. What was the deal? They were dating now so it should have been more comfortable but there was still something holding them back from relaxing.

"Okay guys, what's up? You look beyond high strung. Take a few deep breaths and then start again. Pretend I'm not even here. Okay? I'll put on some light music. Don't worry about following it if you can't."

With that Izumi sat down and watched them from a distance. She could hear their whispered words to each other.

"So, does Friday work for you for going to the museum for the grand opening party?"

"Of course! What's the dress?"

"Semi formal. I'll pick you up at around seven."

"Perfect."

Izumi's gut twisted and she justified it as just being hungry. Her phone chimed and she looked to see that she had a text message from Keiko.

 ** _From: Kei!_**

 _Girl, Obito just texted me this video. Apparently there was someone watching you rehearse last week. Is it steamy in here or is that just me?_

Izumi furrowed her brows as she pulled up the video in question. It was of her and Itachi dancing the Rumba the day before she watched him and Megumi do it. Izumi couldn't take her eyes off of the screen. They were flawless and impossibly close and the connection was ridiculous. Her cheeks started to burn and there was a weird feeling in her stomach that was slowly crawling up her spine and down her legs. Every nerve in her body felt electrified.

"Izumi, how was that?"

Izumi quickly saved the video and made her way over to the couple dancing. "It was a lot better. You were much more relaxed. But, sadly, it's time for dinner."

She turned on her heel and practically ran to the dining room. She took the last seat on the right of the table. She knew that Megumi had taken over her seat. Not that she minded. It just happened. Naruto sat diagonally from her at the foot of the table. Next to him was Sakura and then Sasuke and Mikoto and Fugaku in their normal spots. Itachi entered the dining room holding Megumi's hand. Mikoto's lip twitched and Izumi pretended she didn't see it.

Dinner was normal for the most part except that Naruto kept shooting her foxy grins every five minutes. Something was up with him and she figured she knew exactly what. "Say, Naruto." He looked up from his plate to her. Instantly he smiled.

"Yeah, what's up Iz?"

"I was sent a rather interesting video today from my best friend. She said she got it from Obito. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that now would you?" Izumi smiled sweetly at him. Naruto's smile grew impossibly large. She knew it! Everyone else around the table watched the interaction with interest.

"Of course not. Like I would ever intrude on such an intimate moment." Izumi's face flushed so fiercely she could feel it in her ears as she gripped her spoon a little too tightly. Naruto laughed outright and Mikoto smirked. Well this was certainly interesting.

"What video is this?" Itachi asked as he continued eating.

"It was just a video of me ballroom dancing with someone."

"Ooh! Was it Itachi? Can I see? Can I? " Mikoto squealed and clasped her hands in front of her as she bounced up and down like a child.

"Um. . . yeah." Izumi slid her phone across the table. The video was already pulled up. Mikoto pressed play as everyone else crowded around her to watch. Izumi tried to eat her meal normally. The music started up and she could hear her voice coming over the video as she explained for Itachi to start whenever he was comfortable.

Izumi watched the expressions of everyone around her while still trying to act as normal as possible. But the air in the room seemed to increase in temperature every second. Mikoto and Sakura smiled and cooed like love struck idiots. Naruto had his foxy grin on his face and Sasuke and Fugaku looked shocked at what they were seeing. Megumi was stony faced and Itachi's face colored more and more as the video progressed.

The video soon ended and everyone took their seats around the table. Mikoto slid Izumi her phone back and took to happily eating her food. "My, that was a very energetic video. There was so much passion. No wonder you both won the dance competition."

"Thank you Mrs. Uchiha. That is very kind."

"You see what I mean by intimate moment now?" Naruto asked Mikoto and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Hey Izumi, do you think that maybe you could give me some Rumba lessons?" Sakura asked excited. Izumi thought it over and it seemed harmless enough.

"Yeah, of course. Are you going to bring your own partner or am I going to need to find one for you?" Izumi watched a muscle twitch in Sasuke's jaw. They had only started dating around Christmastime but she had noticed in their short interactions that he was probably lacking any sort of romantic bone in his body. "I'm sure Deidara would love to help."

"I'll do it." Sasuke clenched his hand and Sakura and Mikoto squealed in unison. Izumi smirked at Sasuke's reaction. She knew exactly what to say to get him riled up. She figured anyone related to Itachi would not want someone they cared about too close to someone as crazy as Deidara. But she wasn't so sure she could take anymore of Sakura and Mikoto squealing while she was still trying to hold down her embarrassment. She stood up at the table and everyone turned to look at her. She lightly bowed down.

"If you'll excuse me I have some things I need to take care of. I'll see you all tomorrow." With that she bounded out the door without even a word to Frank and raced to her apartment.

There was a note on the counter that said that Deidara had kidnapped Keiko to help him and Hidan with their English papers so she would be back very late. That suited Izumi just fine. She curled up in her bed and pulled out her phone. She watched her dance with Itachi at least five times before she fell asleep.

Okay, so maybe she was a little bit in love with him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Pull Me in Gently**

 _Chapter Five_

* * *

The last two weeks passed by in a blur. Izumi tried her best to put her all in to her studies and in to tutoring but she just wasn't giving it her best. When she was in her classes she would sit there and think about the fact that she was now in love with Itachi.

Honestly, she should have seen it coming. He was polite and smart and randomly funny. Not to mention incredibly attractive. She should have known from the start that this was going to be detrimental for her. She could still see Rin's smirking face in her head when she told her that she needed to give it a chance. That darn Rin. She knew exactly what she was doing to Izumi when she suggested tutoring Itachi.

When Izumi was dancing with Itachi she was concentrating so hard on keeping the perfect dance form and on acting as naturally as possible that she was sure he was catching on to something being off. No matter what she did he was always the forefront of her thoughts, complicating everything.

It also did not help that Megumi came to every practice. Currently she was giggling madly at something that Itachi was saying as they tried their best to Samba. Izumi rolled her eyes and changed the song. Not only were they annoyingly lovey dovey but they were terrible dancers today.

"Okay you two, let's try with this song. You're still stumbling a lot on the steps and I think mixing up the music every so often will help so that you don't get too comfortable."

Itachi nodded as he took Megumi's hand and led her into the beginning position of the dance. Izumi's eyes were fixed on the graceful and gentle movement of his hands as he held her. She took a deep breath and ignored the pang in her chest as she concentrated more on their form.

A small squeal caught Izumi's attention and she turned her head slightly to see Mikoto and Sakura coming toward her. They leaned against the small stage where she stood. Izumi wasn't bothered in the slightest by their presence. In fact she was surprised that they made it this long without stopping by.

"They look wonderful together!" Sakura gushed as she dreamily held her hands under chin bouncing in time to the music.

"They do look pretty good but I must say I've seen a different couple who looks even better." Mikoto looked over at Izumi and winked. Izumi instantly flushed and tried her best to ignore the comment by looking back at the dancing couple.

"Okay guys, you're looking pretty good but Itachi you're footwork is atrocious. You're thinking too much again. Megumi your head!"

Sakura leaned closer to Izumi after her instructions and tried to watch closely to see if she could tell the any difference between their steps. It was amazing that Izumi could spot things that needed work when to her it looked almost perfect.

"You really are amazing. I cannot wait until you give me and Sasuke lessons. I know he'll hate every minute of it but it just looks so romantic!"

Izumi giggled as Sakura practically swooned. In some ways Izumi envied her. She had the ability to be so carefree and openly in love with an Uchiha and was able to get excited about the little things like dancing together.

"I am sure that he'll have some fun. After all, he gets to dance with his girlfriend." Izumi nudged Sakura in the side as Mikoto continued to watch the dancing duo with a small smile on her face but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Okay, okay. Enough Rumba for now. If you do too much more I'm afraid you'll just get worse. Rumba!"

Izumi turned around and switched the song to something more appropriate and kept her gaze on the dance instruction booklet like she was trying to refresh the steps in her mind. When in actuality she was just refusing to look at the loving faces of two people in a very intimate dance. Especially when one of the people involved was the man she was harboring secret feelings for.

A comforting hand was placed on her back. She turned her head slightly to see Mikoto smiling at her. "Are you quite well dear?"

"Of course. Just a little tired with everything going on. There's just a lot of stuff at the same time."

It wasn't a complete lie. She really did have a lot of homework on top of the two dance classes that she was suddenly finding herself involved in.

"Why don't you end the dance session early today and the three of you can have a little study time before dinner?"

"That sounds like a great idea actually."

Mikoto reached over and stopped the music. Itachi instantly jerked his head forward to see what was going on. Izumi usually didn't stop a song in the middle unless she had some very specific critique. He was shocked to see his mother holding the iPod.

"That'll be all the dancing for today kids. I think it would be good for the three of you to take the next hour to just work on regular homework assignments. You can set up in the library." Mikoto smiled as she began walking to the door. "I'll let Frank know that you are relocating. Sakura, feel free to study with them I'll send Sasuke and Naruto along as well. Also, dinner is still at seven so don't be too late."

Mikoto smiled one more time at Izumi before she left the room completely. Izumi turned and grabbed her backpack off the floor. This was actually going to be really nice. She needed more time to study and having a group of people around her might actually make her try to focus on her work more than on Itachi.

Frank was waiting in the hall when Izumi stepped out of the ballroom. "Frank, my good sir. Could you possibly direct me to the library in this fine establishment?"

"But of course miss. I would be absolutely delighted."

Frank held out his arm and Izumi took it while laughing the whole time. The library was only a few doors down from the ballroom so the walk was short but Izumi was grateful that she was able to walk with Frank rather than the lovebirds.

"As always thank you for you excellent company."

"I assure you the pleasure is all mine."

Frank bowed and headed back down the hall as Izumi claimed a plush, maroon chair that overlooked the garden on the side of the house. There was a rather large desk in the middle of the library with eight chairs just like hers and she she shook her head at the opulence of it all. This house was seriously crazy. There was a thing as being too rich.

She pulled out several notebooks and textbooks from her backpack followed by her laptop. She was already planning out which things she wanted to work on when the door opened quietly. Itachi smiled at her and then opened the door wider for Megumi and Sakura, who were chatting animatedly, to come in.

"The Samba looks like so much fun but the Rumba. That is hot. Like you don't even do too much that would be considered sexy but there's just something so intimate and sexy about it."

"I know what you mean. It instantly became my favorite dance when I saw Sasori and Izumi dance it together. With that kind of connection it's amazing that they don't date."

Izumi tried her hardest to focus on the study guide loaded in front of her but Megumi's voice was ringing in her head.

"Sasori? You mean Itachi's friend with the puppets? They dance together?"

"Yeah, and it's hot. Super hot. I don't know why they don't date. Seriously."

 _Because I'm in love with your boyfriend_. She clenched her pen tighter than she meant to and tried to focus on the words in front of her.

"I'm pretty sure no one wants to date a man obsessed with puppets. Can you imagine having those creepy things all over your house or while you're trying to be intimate?"

Izumi's head shot up at Itachi's voice and his eyes were locked on her hers. There was a smirk on his face the entire time he spoke. Izumi could feel one creeping up on her face as well.

"Well whatever. If you're not dating Sasori is there someone else that you are dating?" Megumi smiled sweetly at Izumi and she tried not to let her trepidation show. She hated being asked dating questions. She dated here and there occasionally but it had definitely been a while and her current crush was taken.

"Not at the moment but I'm just fine with that."

"Well if you want to I have several friends I could set you up with." Izumi noticed Itachi twitch minutely and she watched him for several seconds before answering.

"I'm fine for now but I do have a test to study for. Sorry." Izumi smiled bashfully as she put on her headphones and turned on some comforting music. It was loud enough that she couldn't here the rest of the conversations too well and she was good with that.

Naruto bounded into the room with Sasuke and took a seat next to Izumi at the table. He smiled and waved at her before turning and talking to Sakura. Izumi watched them for several minutes as Naruto became more and more animated and kept saying the name Hinata over and over. Sakura looked increasingly more annoyed until she finally punched him on the head and then the two of them burst into laughter.

Izumi felt a smile slip its way on to her face as she watched them interact. It was sweet and she couldn't help but be drawn to Naruto's bright attitude. She felt eyes on her and turned her head slightly to see Itachi gazing at her over his laptop as he typed. A message pinged on her own laptop and she saw that it was from Itachi.

 _Are you all right? You seemed a little down today. I know that my mom ended the tutoring today for studying. Did you need help with anything?_

Izumi read the message a few times through and glanced over her laptop. Itachi was staring at her, willing her to reply instantly. She shook her head.

 _I'm fine. Just a little stressed. I don't need any help._

 _Scratch that. You any good with statistics?_

Izumi looked up as he heard a chuckle from across her. She took off her headphones and frowned at Itachi. "Something funny?"

"Not in the slightest. What can I help with?"

Izumi pushed her textbook forward with the exercise that she was working on and her notebook with all her numbers scrawled across the paper in various formations. Itachi looked over everything before leaning forward and explaining it to her.

Izumi really was listening. But his hair was slightly brushing across her arm as he wrote on her paper and he spoke in a low voice that was almost a purr. It was hard for her to hear anything except the frantic beating of her own heart at the closeness of his proximity.

"Do you see now?" Itachi turned and looked at Izumi. She stared in his eyes for what felt like eternity before she was able to come up with something to say.

"Uh. . ." Yeah, real intelligent.

"Okay, I'll explain it again." He grabbed her arm and made sure that she was paying attention to the numbers on the page in front of him and Izumi listened intently. She soaked up every word he said and every number he wrote down. For just this moment she wanted to pretend that Itachi wasn't attached and that she could sit this close to him without there being any issues.

He finished his explanation soon and unfortunately leaned back to his computer so Izumi slid back into her chair. She hazarded a glance around the room. Naruto was smiling at her and moving his eyebrows up and down. She elbowed him in the side and he giggled. Sasuke had his own headphones in and Megumi was quizzing Sakura on some vocabulary words. No one beside Naruto had even noticed what had just transpired between Itachi and Izumi. She breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her headphones back on.

* * *

Izumi focused intensely on the assignment in front of her and the music ringing in her ears that she nodded along to. Someone tapped her shoulder and she jumped ten feet in the air, dropping her notebook on the ground. Izumi turned to look behind her at the amused expression of Itachi. She looked around the room and noticed that everyone was gone except for a snickering Naruto leaning against the door frame.

"Um, where is everybody?"

"They have all headed to the dining hall. My mother will be most upset if we are late." He extended his hand to help her stand. Izumi twitched like she was going to take it but then remembered who she was talking to and what would happen if she touched that hand. She would be hurting herself.

"Okay, I'll clean up my stuff and I'll be in real soon." Izumi gave a bright smile and Itachi's hand fell slowly back to his side. The amusement in his eyes lessened.

"All right. See you in a bit."

Itachi turned swiftly and then exited the room. Naruto stood against the door still. His smile was gone and he crossed his arms as he regarded Izumi who just sat in her chair staring blankly at the screen of her computer. So she had been wrong. It hurt just as much to ignore his gesture as it would have been taking it.

"Well, that was cold blooded. Why did you reject him like that?"

Izumi took a few seconds to answer. She wasn't sure how much she wanted to tell Naruto of all people. He seemed really invested in what was happening between her and Itachi but at the same time she didn't know him all that well.

"You wouldn't understand. Besides, he's taken and that's that. Shouldn't you be headed to dinner? You know how Mikoto gets." Izumi attempted a smile to show that she was joking but from Naruto's expression she could tell it fell flat.

"If you say I don't understand it then okay. I'll see you in there."

Izumi didn't respond as Naruto left the room. She flopped against the back of the chair and sighed. Wasn't falling for someone supposed to be better than this? Why did she have to pick someone who wasn't available? Izumi wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. Sure, it had only be a few days since she had discovered that she was in love with him but if everyday was going to feel like this the next few months of the semester were going to be excruciatingly long.

Izumi sighed and forced her self to sit up and put all of her things into her backpack. She glanced at her phone and noticed it was 7:15 She hoped that Mikoto didn't make everyone wait for her. With that thought in mind she grabbed her bag and headed to the dining room. There was delightful laughter and chatting coming from the hall and she couldn't help but smile. She set her bag next to the door like always and turned into the dining room. Fugaku was absent which explained the loud laughter. Naruto and Sakura were regaling everyone with a story about someone at their school Naruto affectionately called Bushy Brows.

Itachi looked up at Izumi as she entered the room and smiled at her. She slid into her new seat and he leaned over to hand her some food. She took it gratefully.

"Everything okay? I convinced mom not to wait since I didn't know how long you'd be."

"I'm all good and thanks for that. I was actually worried that everyone would be mad that I took so long."

"Who would be made about that?" Itachi smiled a full smile at Izumi and her heart stopped. It was the first time she had ever actually seen him give smile that wasn't a smirk. It took all of her control not to drop the serving spoon but she wasn't able to fight the giant smile overtaking her own face.

"Thank you."

* * *

"Passion. Strength. These are the things that you need to remember when doing the Paso Doble. It's a different type of dance than either the Rumba or the Samba but it is beautiful and fierce. It has great showmanship like the Samba and intensity like the Rumba but is just its own animal."

Izumi cocked her hip as she listened to her dance teacher passionately described the emotion behind the Paso. Their class had been working on it for the last week but they were not getting the right emotion apparently. If she were being totally honest, her dance shoes were way more interesting than what her instructor was saying.

"Well, I guess that's all we'll cover for now. How about you get with a partner and I'll put on a mix of songs so you can run through all three. We need these dances to be as uniform as possible for the competition and the medals exams that are coming up. I'll be walking around to give some tips. Remember that the steps are important and so is the form. But I also want you to try and use your hips. Work on your connection and perform a little. Don't save it all for the competition. You might mess up if that is the case. Good luck!"

"Are you ready for this?" Izumi instantly placed her hand in the palm waiting for her. She didn't even need to check that it was Sasori that asked her. It was like an unwritten rule in their class that she mostly danced with Sasori and sometimes danced with Deidara.

Sasori pulled her to an unoccupied part of the dance floor and they started the Samba. Keiko and Deidara stuck out their tongues and taunted them as they danced passed them. Sasori shouted about Deidara's girly pants but Izumi didn't even flinch. She kept her gaze firmly in front of her.

Their dance was clean and perfect but that was it. No flair, no connection, no nothing. Izumi's thoughts were too wrapped up in the person she had to help dance later. The man with long, flowing hair and a gentle disposition. That was endlessly kind to her but always making her chuckle. Izumi clenched her hand around Sasori's slightly as the pain in her chest seemed to multiply. Why did she have to think about him everywhere?

Sasori stopped their dance mid step and placed his hands on either side of her face and forced her to look at him in he eye. He studied her with a critical eye for several minutes and she tried not to look nervous in front of him. His gaze tore through her like he would know the deepest secrets of her soul. It was unnerving. Like looking into the eyes of one of his puppets.

"Oh gross. Really Izumi?"

Izumi was taken back as Sasori's face crumpled in disgust. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You've fallen in love with that idiot haven't you?"

Izumi froze and tried to avert her eyes. How could he have possibly known that? It wasn't like she was wearing it written on her face somewhere and Keiko hadn't said anything to her and normally she picked up on emotions like it was her super power. Then again, she hadn't really been around recently. Izumi shook her head. She had more pressing concerns at the moment then her best friend being busy. Izumi wilted.

"Am I that obvious?" There was no point in lying to Sasori.

"Not in the slightest. I just know you and you are never like this. Even when the world gets tough and your classes rip you apart you still smile and put your all into our dances. The only possible explanation for the reason that you are so down and distracted is because of love. Unrequited love to be exact."

"How did you come to be so smart and intuitive?"

Sasori shrugged his shoulders. "There's nothing you can do in this situation except sabotage their relationship and you're too good of a person to do that so you should just get over it. There's no point in moping."

"I'm not moping. I pissed that I fell. I'm pissed that I never even considered it as a possibility and then it happened."

"I see. Well, like I said there's nothing you can do about it so stop thinking about it."

Izumi listened to Sasori as she watched the other members of her class stomp through the Paso. Keiko and Deidara looked like a king and queen fighting for the throne.

"You're right. It needs to stop effecting my everyday life. Our dancing is going to suck if I don't pull it together."

"Oh thank goodness. I was starting to think I'd have to find a new partner and I'm not the most patient of people."

Izumi chuckled as he grabbed her hands and they started into the Rumba. "Could you not tell anyone about this? I don't want Keiko or Deidara to give me crap or make it worse."

"Your secret's safe with me. Now shut up and dance."

Izumi rolled her eyes and complied. Sasori was right. She couldn't keep thinking about Itachi. He was dating Megumi and she was his tutor. She would finish out the semester strong and then when summer hit she would keep a casual correspondence as friends. She could do this. She could be strong and pretend like she had never realized the scope of her feelings. She could pretend like she didn't dream about being held in his strong arms.

Itachi walked by the dance hall and peered in at the class. He waved at Deidara and then nodded at Sasori. His gaze landed on her for half a second and he smiled with a small wave. Izumi raised her hand and then continued to dance like nothing had happened.

Who was she kidding?

She would never be able to pretend that man didn't make her heart flutter with just one small smile.


	6. Chapter 6

**Pull Me in Gently**

 _Chapter 6_

* * *

It was now the middle of March and Izumi felt like she was still being pulled in eight million different directions. Her schoolwork had slowed down a small amount but she was still tutoring Itachi and pretending she wasn't in love with him. On top of that it seemed like her best friend was increasingly more and more MIA when Izumi needed her most.

She tried her best to pay attention to the redhead in front of her but she really needed to study. She did not want to think about ballroom dance for as long as possible and Sasori was making it increasingly more difficult. When had her fun class become the source of all her stress and drama? Oh, right. When she fell in love by accident.

"I'll text you later about the meeting place. Apparently Deidara was thinking that we should do a double dance practice. So we can give each other some pointers on our dances and such. It's not a half bad idea for an idiot." Sasori readjusted his backpack after stuffing a book in it. Izumi ran into him by accident outside of the business building.

"That sounds just fine. I'd really like to get some pointers from them and maybe practice the Paso with Deidara because I am just not getting it." Izumi looked at Sasori who suddenly appeared very grumpy. "No no no, it has nothing to do with you. I just know that Keiko is getting it almost perfect and since Deidara dances with her he will have a better time assessing what I'm messing up with."

Sasori nodded. "Fair enough. I've gotta head to the theater now to do some hours in the puppet lab. See ya!"

"Have fun!"

* * *

Izumi sighed as she sank deeper into the over stuffed couch she found in the business building. There was hardly anyone here on Thursdays since the classes were fewer and the majority of the business students were off networking for the weekend already. The couch she found was in a secluded nook right next to a giant window that overlooked the courtyard below. It was a little bit of heaven on earth.

Her geography textbook was open and she was trying to memorize all the countries in Africa for a test she had that weekend. Her brain was fried and all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and fall asleep. Then maybe she wouldn't have to think about Africa, ballroom dance, or Itachi.

The couch shifted to her right and she turned to see Itachi sitting next to her with a sandwich in one hand and a philosophy book in the other. He turned a page and took a bite of his food before turning and smiling at her. "Hello Izumi, I don't believe I've seen you here before. Do you study here often?"

"Not usually. Today I wanted somewhere more comfortable and less populated so I somehow ended up here. It's a nice spot though. Do you study here often?"

Itachi shook his head and took another bite of his sandwich. It was chicken salad on a croissant and Izumi could smell it from where she sat. Why did she skip lunch? "I normally study in my room at home or in our library. But today I decided to stay on campus as long as possible so I wouldn't get distracted. I also saw you sitting here and thought maybe I could join you."

"Well I'm glad you did. I needed a little bit of a mental break." Itachi laughed and turned his attention back to his book. Izumi watched him take another bite of his sandwich before she too returned to her book. She mouthed the countries as she read them and then closed her eyes and tried to remember them. She didn't notice Itachi watching her with an amused smile on his face.

"That is impressive." Izumi cracked an eye open and raised her eyebrow. "That you can remember all of those countries. You got them all right I might add."

Izumi smiled and punched the air. "Sweet! I'm gonna nail that test!" Itachi chuckled and right then Izumi's stomach started growling. She looked at him sheepishly. "Sorry, I skipped lunch to study."

"No worries, do you want a bite?" Itachi tantalizingly waved his sandwich in front of her face.

"I couldn't."

"Oh come on, yes you can. I saw you eyeing it earlier." Izumi looked at him guiltily.

"Okay, one bite." She took the sandwich and took her bite. She chewed the food slowly making sure to enjoy every flavor. Itachi took it from her and bit right where she had. "That is delicious. Where did you get it?"

"Frank."

"Frank? Like my bestie the butler?"

"The very same." Itachi gave Izumi the sandwich back and without even thinking she took another bite then gave it back. "Every once and a while he makes chicken salad sandwiches for himself but makes way too much so we end up getting them for lunch, dinner, or as a snack." He took a bite and then passed it back to Izumi.

"Well, the next time I see him I am going to thank him. They are absolutely divine!" Izumi took one more bite and then handed it back to Itachi who finished it off. She seemed to realize that she had just basically eaten his sandwich. "Uh. . . sorry about that."

"It's perfectly all right. Besides, I didn't mind sharing my lunch with you." He smiled at her and she returned it. Soon they were both studying in a comfortable silence.

* * *

Izumi's geography test went perfectly and now she was perched on one of the comfy chairs in the Uchiha's library. Mikoto had decided that since Izumi was helping Itachi dance so much that once a week they could shorten practice and study in the library.

Honestly, it was one of the highlights of Izumi's week. Keiko was usually stuck studying with Hidan since he was taking similar classes or helping Rin with wedding details so Izumi liked having friends around to study with. Sasuke and his friends joined them most of the time and Itachi sometimes had some of his friends over.

Currently Izumi was sitting in-between Sasori and Kissame and Itachi sat in front of her. Next to him was Megumi, Naruto, and Sasuke. It was a rag tag group but Izumi didn't mind it. Kissame and Naruto spent a good chunk of their time teasing their best friends so it was at least entertaining.

Sasori tapped his pencil lightly as he worked on a sketch of a new puppet. There was an upcoming show in the fall that needed a lot of puppets and their department decided that each of the students should design two to be put up for consideration in the show. Izumi ignored his tapping as she typed away on her computer. Papers were a lot easier when you actually cared about the material you were writing.

Sasori sighed and she turned her head to look at him. He leaned over a little bit and slid the sketch in front of her. "What do you think?"

Izumi studied the sketch for a few minutes. The puppet had three eyes, four arms, and two legs. It was sitting so that it's head was tilted to the side and it was easy to see that his teeth were jagged. But he still looked somewhat human and that made Izumi shiver.

"Wow, I think this is the creepiest thing you have ever made." Sasori looked up from the drawing to meet Izumi's eyes. They were close enough that she could see the specks of gold lining his pupils.

"Really? The assignment was for one villain type puppet and one human type. I wasn't sure that this would really look. I was hoping that at first glance people might think he was human. That would be the scariest of all right? Something that was similar to human but not?"

Sasori looked back to the drawing for a split second and then bore his gaze back into Izumi's. He had put a lot of thought into this. This contest of sorts really meant a lot to him and Izumi could see it in the fine work he had presented.

"I honestly thought the same thing. The whole reason it's creepy to me is because of the human like quality. I think this is the best work you've ever done." Izumi smiled and Sasori smirked in response. "What are you gonna call it?"

"Not sure. But I was thinking something like Crow."

"Crow. I like it."

Sasori smiled and Izumi giggled a little. She was grateful that they had built a friendship somehow through their dance class. Sure, he was a little impatient, weirdly into puppets, and grumpy a lot of the time. But that was what made him Sasori and she loved him for that.

But there was someone else at the table that was decidedly less ecstatic about the exchange the two of them just had.

Itachi had looked up while Sasori was tapping his pencil and had seen the whole thing. He couldn't hear what they were saying since they were both whispering. But he saw how they got closer and closer as they spoke and how they gazed into his each other's eyes. Smiling, laughing. Itachi couldn't look away and something twisted uncomfortably in his gut. Was there something going on between Izumi and Sasori? No, that was impossible. But still, he had seen their immense chemistry as they danced the Rumba and it was hard to fake that kind of chemistry. Wasn't it? Sure, professionals did it all the time but Sasori and Izumi were not professionals.

Itachi tapped his fingers lightly on the arm of the chair he was sitting on as he continued to watch their exchange. What would Izumi see in Sasori anyway? The idiot was rude, impatient, always working on the world's creepiest art project, and always had a critical thing to say. There was no way that someone so sweet and loving as Izumi would be interested in someone like that. She could do a lot better.

Kisame tapped Itachi's arm and he turned to meet his friends eyes. "Dude, if you keep staring I think Megumi is going to start thinking you have a different love interest."

Itachi blinked a few times before he realized what he was doing. He was staring at Izumi and Sasori and totally fabricating an entire romance. He shook his a to clear his thoughts.

"You're quite right Kisame. I think I was just zoning out."

Kisame snorted. "You? Zone out? No way! If I didn't know any better I would think that you were looking at the two of them with jealousy."

"Kisame, that is preposterous."

"If you say so."

Kisame turned back to his textbooks and Itachi turned to hazard another glance at the people in front of him. Izumi was typing away on her computer with her earphones on and Sasori was staring right at him. A mischievous smirk graced his face as he continued tapping his pencil. Itachi schooled his face and looked back down to his book.

Why was Sasori making that face? Was there something that he knew that Itachi did not? And why was Itachi feeling like he wanted to jump over the table and wipe that look off of Sasori's face? Itachi clenched his hands in his lap to keep himself from doing anything rash as he continued his homework. He couldn't wait for tonight to be over already.

* * *

"Okay, your dance form is very important. It's not as rigid as it is for International ballroom but it is still important. You want to still look good even while you're having fun."

Sakura snickered as Izumi spoke and Sasuke tried his hardest not to roll his eyes. Izumi smirked as she watched him. He was a good sport for allowing Sakura to force him to dance.

"So, Sasuke, you'll take her right hand in your left and then your right hand will be right under her shoulder blade. Like this."

Izumi turned to Itachi who had agreed to be her dance partner, purely so he could laugh at Sasuke when he messed up, and waited for him to hold out his palm. He slowly lifted his hand and she gingerly placed hers inside. He then took his right hand and slowly slid it up her back and into place, never breaking eye contact.

Izumi did her best to keep her breathing even but Itachi's eyes boring into hers were making it hard. His gaze was intense but there was something there that looked like care for her that she wanted so desperately to be real. His gentle hands sliding into place lit her spine of fire and she was finding it more and more difficult to remember that he was taken.

Delicately she released her grip on his hand and slipped out of his arms. Itachi frowned minutely and turned forward to look at Sakura and Sasuke. "Sakura were you paying attention to where my hands were?"

Sakura nodded her head up and down vigorously. Izumi couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's enthusiasm. "Okay, let's see the two of you get into formation!"

Sasuke turned and made eye contact with Sakura before he slowly held out his hand and then settled the two of them into the perfect dancing position. They had already learned a few of the steps separately so now was the time to put that knowledge to good use.

"Perfect! The two of you are pros already. Now, you are going to do the steps that Itachi and I already taught you separately but now together! You'll need to talk to each other in the beginning to remember the steps and such. We'll observe and give pointers if we decide they are necessary. Go for it!"

Sakura let out a squeal and Sasuke rolled his eyes playfully as he cracked a very small smile. The two of them pulled apart and went through the steps together so that they were getting more and more in sync with each other until they were finally dancing in the correct form. Izumi was surprised and honestly a little jealous. How had they managed to get so good so fast?

"They are both brilliant." As if reading her mind Itachi had moved over closer to her side to watch the pair dance. He was impossibly close and Izumi was hyper-aware of him. Every breath and every movement was like an earthquake to her.

"Oh yeah? How did you know I was wondering about them?"

"I think it's safe to say that we've grown pretty close in this last few months. I could see the question clearly on your face. You were wondering why they learned so quickly and are already so good at it."

Izumi was shocked and honestly, a little turned on at the fact that the could read her thoughts so well. "Huh. So, they're brilliant?"

"Oh yeah. Sakura is a special junior apprentice to Tsunade Senju the great doctor and Sasuke is an Uchiha so naturally he has intelligence and a good drive to work hard."

"You sound so proud of him."

Itachi scoffed. "I am not!"

Izumi giggled and nudged him playfully with her elbow. "Uh-huh. You can't full me. You adore your little brother."

Itachi's eyes softened as she turned and continued to watch Sakura and Sasuke continue dancing. They were laughing now as they had started doing crazy extra dance steps and spins. Izumi didn't feel it was important to tell them to stop so she just watched Itachi.

"I do adore my little brother. You are right. And I am proud of him. He has grown up into a fine young man and I am so glad that he is so happy. He was in a dark place for a lot of years and now he has finally come into the light."

Izumi placed her hand gently on Itachi's and he intertwined their fingers and squeezed her hand. Her heart fluttered at the gesture and she had to remind herself that she being comforting. There was no time for romance right now.

"Wait, you said that he's an Uchiha so that automatically makes him intelligent?" Itachi nodded with his brows furrowed. "That must mean that my branch of Uchiha must have missed out on that."

Itachi snorted and started giggling. Soon he was full out laughing and Izumi couldn't keep the giant smile off of her face. He doubled over in laughter but still held onto her hand. Izumi was shocked to see this side of him. He was always so serious and she had doubted he ever really laughed like this. Honestly, her joke wasn't even that funny. She was just trying to keep his mind from wandering to whatever dark things had happened in the past.

Sasuke and Sakura slowly came to a halt as they noticed Itachi's booming laughter ringing through the ballroom. Sasuke's eyes were wide for a few seconds before his face melted into a beautiful smile to match his brothers. Sakura still looked confused but started laughing in spite of herself. Soon everyone was chuckling a little.

Itachi finally calmed down and with his free hand wiped the tears that were streaming down his cheeks. "Oh goodness. I have not laughed like that in my entire life."

"I can honestly say I was shocked to see you laugh that hard. What I said wasn't even that funny."

Itachi smiled at Izumi and she took a deep breath as her heart started to beat wildly. Itachi's smiling face was definitely a beautiful sight. "It was the way you said it. It was like a combination of dejected and mortified. I can;t really describe it but the look on your face was so cute I just couldn't resist laughing."

Izumi's pulse quickened yet again. How was she not dead yet or passing out from the constant change of blood pressure? Had he just said what she thought he had?

Sasuke cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable with his brother complimenting a girl in front of him. "Anyway, I think this was enough practice for now. We have to go get ready for the movie tonight. You know how mom has been looking forward to this." Sasuke looked at Itachi seriously for a minute and Itachi nodded in understanding. It was like the two of them were having a conversation that Izumi and Sakura were not privy to.

"Fine. I was tired of teaching anyway. I'll see you two next Friday for another lesson."

Sasuke and Sakura headed out of the ballroom and down the hall. Itachi and Izumi were left standing in the now empty ballroom. "Izumi?"

"Hm?"

"Would you care to take a walk with me outside for a minute? I need to grab something out in the garden."

Izumi nodded a little confused as to why Itachi was asking her to the garden but she relented regardless. I mean, hey, she is in love with the man so any opportunity she could spend with him was golden, right? Izumi sighed. She knew that this would hurt her later but she didn't care at the moment.

Itachi pulled her with him down the hall and out the backdoor. Izumi gasped as she gazed upon the garden. It was huge with various flowers and trees spread out. There was a path wasn't quite clearly defined and there were various gated sections. Some looked like vegetable garden and others looked like they were hiding something. Everything was absolutely beautiful and she could hear the rushing of a brook somewhere but she couldn't see it.

Itachi chuckled as he pulled her farther into the garden. They took the path through winding trees and flowers and finally came upon a gate that was hidden in the ivy. Itachi reached behind the plants and pushed the door open. Inside was a wonderland. There was a small table with four chairs, a wing tied to the branch of a tree, and gorgeous red and yellow flowers everywhere. There were delicate wire butterflies in every color imaginable placed throughout the flowers and there was sunlight streaming through the trees.

"This is absolutely beautiful." Izumi barely spoke above a whisper as she tried to take it all in. They had their own secret garden. How amazing was that?

"Do you really think so? Sasuke and I have been working on this for the last few months. Today is my mother's birthday and were are planning on giving it to her."

Izumi turned from staring at the sky to looking at him. In the sunlight his face absolutely radiated and there was still a trace of his perfect smile from earlier. He was so handsome. "It's perfect. She'll love it."

Itachi let out a breath and smiled the smallest hint of a smile. "Oh thank goodness."

"So, why did you want to show this to me?" Itachi pulled Izumi with him to a bench that she hasn't even seen before hidden in the shade of one of the towering trees. He sat down and she followed. It was only then that she remembered they were holding hands and she blushed as she noticed he finally let go.

"Sasuke and I were discussing how we could gauge if mother would like this place and we decided that you were our best bet. Our mother adores you and you get along so well that we figured if you liked it she would too."

"That makes perfect sense actually. And I'm totally flattered to know that your mother thinks so highly of me." Izumi's heart was spilling over with love. This family was so loving and caring for each other. They had obviously gone through some rough times together and came out even stronger for it. To know that someone so kind and wonderful as Mikoto cared about her and that her sons had done all of this hard work just to show her how much they loved her was amazing. Izumi couldn't help the happy tears that slowly fell from her eyes.

"Izumi? Are you all right?" Itachi turned toward her and gently wiped away her tears with his right hand.

Izumi nodded and smiled. "Yeah, there's just so much love in this place. It's so tangible and it was a little overwhelming."

"Well that is a good thing."

Itachi allowed Izumi a minute to compose herself and get her tears to stop before he spoke again. "So tonight my mother is making us go to this sing along movie. She'd been talking about it for the last few months and we all agreed to go. Afterwards we are going to give her the key to the garden. Do you want to come with us?"

Izumi bit her tongue from already saying yes. She really wanted to go but she didn't want to interfere or step on anybody's toes by showing up when she was just a tutor. "Who all is going?" She tried to ask the question innocently enough and Itachi didn't seem to pick up on anything out of the ordinary.

"Me, Megumi, Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, Obito, Shisui, and my parents."

"Who's Shisui?"

Itachi tensed a small amount but then chuckled. "I was actually hoping the two of you would never meet. You know what? Invitation retracted."

"What? Oh, that's it. I'm for sure coming."

"Fine, just for that you can wrap the key."

"It's not my mother's birthday."

"Touche."

Izumi chuckled as she stood up and Itachi followed her as she skipped around the garden a few times before they headed out. He wouldn't help but watch her every movement. Her long, brown hair was captivating as it caught the sunlight. What was he thinking? He shook his head and walked faster to catch up with her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Pull Me in Gently**

 _Chapter 7_

* * *

The car ride to the theater was hilarious. Obito had shown up while Izumi and Itachi were in the garden and demanded that he get to drive. Izumi happily jumped in his car with Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura followed. The other car had to pick up Shisui on the way so they said they would meet them there.

Obito and Naruto picked the loudest most danceable music they could find and everyone, with the exception of Sasuke, danced and sang along. Needless to say when they arrived they were laughing and dancing around like crazy people.

The other Uchiha car was waiting for them in the lobby of the theater and chatting quietly. They all turned when the heard Naruto and Obito burst through the door followed by Izumi dancing and Sakura yelling lyric changes. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the scene they were making.

"Oh dear, it seems your car ride was a lot of fun." Mikoto bit her lip as she smiled at the group.

"Unfortunately." Sasuke grumbled as Sakura hip checked him.

"We should have switched cars. It was like someone died in ours." Shisui groused and pretended to deflate. Izumi snorted and he looked at her for the first time. "Oh ho ho, and who might this be? I do believe that we have not been acquainted yet."

Izumi snorted again. "I'm Izumi and you must be Shisui." Izumi glanced at Itachi and smiled at him. Now she understood why he didn't want her to meet Shisui. He was flirt.

"My reputation precedes me. Now tell me, how do you know this fine family?"

Everyone watched the interaction between the two of them. They knew that Shisui was a little bit of flirt and that Itachi was attached to Izumi in some way that he hadn't realized yet. This was bound to get interesting. Mikoto watched her oldest as he seemed to tense the longer the conversation between the two drug out.

"I am currently tutoring Itachi in ballroom dance."

"You are?" Shisui turned to look at his cousin and best friend. "And why did you keep this information from me?"

"I didn't really feel like having you make fun of me for needing help in a dance class."

"Now why would I do that when the tutor is this cute?" Shisui turned back to Izumi who had turned a lovely shade of pink. "How long have you been tutoring him?"

"About two months or so."

"That long? Interesting."

There was lull in the conversation as Shisui smiled at Izumi and she proceeded to get redder and redder. Itachi had finally had enough. His blood was boiling and he didn't know why.

It was like he was watching Izumi study with Sasori but way way worse. This was his best friend for crying out loud! He should certainly leave what was Itachi's alone.

Wait.

Izumi wasn't his. Megumi was.

Itachi squeezed his hand and looked down to see that he was indeed holding Megumi's hand. He looked up at her face and she was watching the pair in front of them with her eyebrows furrowed but a smiled was slowly creeping up on her face. She leaned over slightly to whisper in Itachi's ear.

"They're kinda cute together. Maybe we should set them up? Ooh! We could do a double date." _Oh heck no._

"All right. I think we've chatted enough. We should probably get our snacks and head to our seats don't you think?"

Everyone nodded and started moving towards the concession stand. Obito and Naruto shared a smile and then pulled Shisui over to talk with them. Occasionally they would look in Itachi's direction and smirk. Shisui became more and more animated. Itachi tried not to let what was going on bother him too much but he couldn't shake that he didn't want Shisui near Izumi. What if she fell for him?

Itachi tried to concentrate on Megumi as she asked him about what candy he wanted but he kept sneaking glances at the group of three guys and Izumi who was laughing with Sakura. Her laugh was so beautiful. _Focus on Megumi._ Itachi shifted his gaze back to his girlfriend.

"That one."

"Okay, Reeses Pieces it is!" Megumi smiled brightly as she ordered their candy and popcorn. He honestly hadn't paid attention to what he had just said he wanted as he was handed a bucket of popcorn and followed the rest of the group to the theater.

Fugaku walked down the row until he reached the end and then sat down followed by his wife. Sasuke took the next seat, then Saukra, Naruto, and Obito. Shisui sauntered down the row and plopped down next to Obito. Itachi moved to follow suit but was stopped but Shisui's loud voice.

"I want Izumi to sit next to me so the two of us can get acquainted." Izumi chuckled as she slid into the row and with her candy and started sharing Shisui's popcorn. Itachi clenched his hand into a fist and stood staring longer than was socially acceptable.

"Babe, come one, move in." Megumi nudged him with her palms on his back and pushed him into the row until he was sitting next to Izumi. She didn't even noticed as she was too engrossed in conversation with Shisui. Why did his mom insist on coming to the theater for her birthday? And why did he have to invite Izumi and Shisui?

* * *

The credits began and Izumi's face lit up wit ha smile. She honestly had no idea what movie sing-a-long they were coming to and now that she was here she could not help her excitement. Izumi had not expected Grease.

It wasn't too far into the movie and Izumi was already dancing around in her seat and mouthing along various quotes. Shisui would lean over and whisper funny things in her ear from time to time and she couldn't help giggling. He was really cute, like everyone in that stupid family, and had a killer personality but Izumi was more focused on the man to her left.

Itachi was weirdly rigid. He sat with a visible scowl on his face and his hand was loosely holding Megumi's. He was leaning really close to Izumi's chair. So much so that he had full command of the arm rest so she was forced to either sit close to him or lean a little toward Shisui. She really wanted to be as close as possible to Itachi but she knew it would be better to lean toward Shisui.

As the movie progressed Izumi soon forgot about Itachi's weird behavior. Mikoto had yelled at everyone about getting into the songs and singing along. She didn't have to yell at Shisui and Izumi as they were already singing along almost dramatically and dancing around. There was once instance where Shisui had even grabbed Izumi's hands and sang to her lovingly as she laughed and fluttered her eyelashes. Itachi silently seethed next to them.

The evening ended too soon for Izumi's liking and she exited the theater hanging onto Shisui's arm as the two of them sang and skipped to the parking lot. Mikoto chuckled as she held onto Fugaku. Everyone seemed to be in a great mood except for her oldest. He was grumpily watching the two skipping out the door as Megumi chatted happily and he nodded absentmindedly. Mikoto hoped he figured it all out soon. She could see the way Izumi pined for him too. And clearly Obito, Naruto, and Shisui were up to something.

"So, you really will come with me dancing tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, it sounds like lots of fun!"

Shisui smiled and grabbed Izumi into a tight hug. "Perfect, it's a date."

Izumi smiled back as the rest of the group reached them in the parking lot.

The two of you just met and you're already going on date? Shisui, my man!" Obito reached his hand out for a high five and Izumi rolled her eyes playfully.

"Anyway, thank you all so much for coming out and celebrating with me tonight. You mean so much to me and I had a lot of fun." Mikoto started to tear up and for the first time that night Itachi didn't look ready to kill someone.

"Mother, we still have one more surprise so everyone back to the house!" Itachi stated and made his way to the car. Sasuke followed him and scooted into the backseat. "What are you doing in here?"

"Don't you remember I hated the ride over and so did Shisui? So we switched." Itachi pursed his lips and Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Are you and Shisui fighting or something? You've been awfully frosty to him all night."

Itachi stared at Sasuke as he tried to come up with some sort of response. Nothing was coming that sounded remotely sane. Why was he so mad at Shisui just for talking with Izumi? That was something jealous boyfriends did. _Oh no._

"Wait a minute." Sasuke's eyes widened as she stared at Itachi. "I get it. I'm slow but I finally get it. How did the idiot get it before me?" Sasuke turned to look out the window as he continued to mumble about everything. Itachi was dumbfounded. What exactly has Sasuke figured out? Megumi was just as confused as she watched the two brothers talk. She was definitely missing something.

They arrived at the Uchiha Estate and Itachi and Sasuke gathered everyone in the backyard. "Mother, for your birthday."

She looked at Sasuke warily and took the golden wrapped box from his hand. Inside was a large, skeleton key that was absolutely beautiful. She gasped at the workmanship and the tiny Uchiha fan in the handle.

"Follow us. " She complied as the brothers led her through the winding paths. Everyone else silently followed behind. Anticipation building with each step. Soon they arrived at the ivy covered wall and Itachi pulled back the vines to reveal a door. Mikoto slowly walked forward and placed the key inside and opened the door.

What was revealed was a garden full of fairy lights and magic. Izumi gasped at seeing the garden for the first time at night. The boys had really out done themselves. Everyone walked around and chatted with each other about the garden. Mikoto was crying and smiling at the same time. Izumi was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling of love and that she was intruding somewhere she didn't belong.

Izumi turned around and left the secret garden. She walked a little ways up the twisting path until she reached a bench next to the brook she hadn't been able to locate earlier. There were so many lights in this garden and it was gorgeous. Almost too gorgeous and a little surreal. Izumi looked down at her phone and realized she had actually missed a message.

* * *

 ** _FROM: Kei!_**

 _Hey Girl! I assume you are out with a hot guy or something so I just wanted to let you know that Deidara is using our apartment to store one of his sculptures so if you are home before I am and before ten he will be coming over to drop it off! Love you!_

* * *

Izumi responded quickly as she heard approaching footsteps. "Texting someone special?"

Itachi moved to sit next to Izumi on the bench as she shook her head. "Nope, just my roommate."

"Are you sure it's not Sasori or something?" Izumi was taken back by the tone of Itachi's voice. What was his problem?

"Even if it was we're just good friends."

"Because you'd rather date Shisui instead of Sasori."

Izumi paused for a minute and shoved her phone into her pocket. Why was Itachi so invested in her dating life all of the sudden? "Honestly? They're both good looking and great guys but I'm not really interested in either one."

Itachi let out a breath and relaxed more on the bench. He looked so relieved. What was going with him? Itachi was really not acting like himself at all. Izumi took a deep breath and mustered up some courage. She tentatively placed her hand on his cheek and turned his head so he was facing her.

"Are you okay? Like really okay? You seemed a little upset tonight. Did I do something to upset you?"

Itachi stared at her for a few moments. She was especially beautiful among all the fairy lights and the moonlight high overhead. His breath stopped for a moment. How had he never realized just how captivating she was. He subconsciously leaned forward to close the gap between the two of them.

Izumi knew what was happening and with all the power she could muster she placed her hand on his chest and gently pushed him away. Tears gathered in her eyes. She knew today would hurt. She knew it would get too far and now she was back to being mad at herself for being so stupid. He wasn't available and she knew that so why was she constantly pushing boundaries and crossing lines.

"Sorry, I have to go." Izumi ran out of the garden and out of the house. Itachi sat on the bench and dropped his head into his hands. What was he doing? He had almost kissed her. _Izumi._ He had a girlfriend that he loved. Why was Izumi making him question everything? The whole reason they had met in the first place was so that she could help him win Megumi over. Why was he feeling so conflicted inside? Why was he so relieved to hear that Izumi wasn't interested in Sasori or Shisui?

Itachi sighed and stood up to make his way back to the secret garden where Sasuke had wheeled out the birthday cake. Itachi didn't understand all the emotions swirling through him but he did know that he was just going to ignore them. He had a loving girlfriend and he wasn't going to ruin all the hard work he had out into ballroom dancing because of weird feelings that seemed a lot like jealousy.


	8. Chapter 8

**Pull Me in Gently**

 _Chapter 8_

* * *

It was another Thursday and Izumi met up with Itachi and Megumi for, yet again, another dance lesson. Itachi and her hadn't spoken since his mother's birthday and that was just fine with Izumi. She was too busy been mad at herself for ever letting it get that far. Sure they hadn't actually kissed but she still felt awful. Itachi seemed the same as always. He would smile at her and then focus on Megumi. It hurt at first that he didn't even seem affected by their near kiss but this was the way it was always supposed to be. Dance practices were beginning to wear on Izumi. Every time she saw them be affection in anyway she was reminded of their almost kiss and of the fact that he would never be hers. Izumi made sure to keep her distance.

Izumi set her bag on the floor and watched Itachi and Megumi warm up a little from the corner of her eye. It was getting closer to the time for the actual dance competition and Izumi could see the nervousness in Itachi and Megumi's eyes. They were doing fine but they lacked the confidence to really make their dancing shine. Izumi knew that she wasn't necessarily the best at being confident in her dancing and right now she had even less motivation to be so. Sasori had commented nonstop at their last practice that if she didn't get over Itachi soon he was definitely switching partners. So for today she brought in the most confident pair she knew: Deidara and Keiko.

Itachi rolled his eyes as Deidara entered the room in a shirt made half of mesh and half of real fabric. He was wearing ripped skinny jeans splattered in clay. Keiko entered the room bouncing all around talking to him about something she learned about emotions.

"Izumi, is this really necessary? I mean we were already reprimanded by Sasori do we really need this loser to give advice?" Izumi laughed as Deidara answered with a 'hey, watch it, yeah!'

"Yes Itachi. The thing that you and Megumi lack is confidence. Confidence in your ability and confidence on the dance floor. The Rumba was all about connection and togetherness and ignoring the judges. The Samba is a party and you need to have larger than life confidence to win. You need to be unafraid of winking at a judges table."

"Why are they teaching us if you beat them in the last competition?" Megumi had a fair point.

"Because they are the masters. The dance they are doing for the competition is the Paso Doble. Or the dance of the matador and the bull. It's full of strength, passion, and performance. They only lost to us because we had a better location on the floor."

Deidara beamed and Keiko smirked. "Dang straight. We are the best performers."

"Exactly. So I want them to do the Samba for you and I want the two of you to watch their body language, their interaction, and their interaction with the audience. Got it?"

Itachi and Megumi nodded as they took a seat against the wall. Itachi held her hand and Izumi pressed play trying to ignore the twist in her stomach.

Deidara spun Keiko around and she giggled. They were ready to perform. The music started up and the two of them instantly turned into matching rays of sunshine. They were having the time of their lives and it was showing with every step, turn, and arm motion. Deidara shimmed a little and winked at Megumi who giggled. Her and Itachi were totally enraptured with the couple dancing in front of them.

"So, what did you two think?" Izumi crossed her arms and leaned against the stage.

"That was freaking amazing. You aren't even wearing flashy costumes and I couldn't keep my eyes off of you! I feel like dancing now. Like the two of you are the couple that always gets the dances started and the clubs going."

"That's right. That's how the Samba is supposed to be danced. Let's watch you two do it and then we can give some pointers, yeah."

Itachi pulled Megumi into the middle of the floor and Keiko and Deidara joined Izumi in leaning on the stage. Keiko leaned against Deidara and he wrapped his arms around her. The two of them weren't dating but they had an affectionate sort of relationship. It stemmed from their friendship and larger than life dancing. Izumi and Sasori were somewhat the same way.

Megumi tried her hardest to move more energetically and to work the crowd more. Itachi was still really stiff and needed some work. But they were all expecting that. It took a while for him to relax and get comfortable and working the crowd was definitely not his strong suit. Deidara sorted as he watched Itachi try to smile while spinning Megumi. Izumi kept her eyes glued to his form as he moved around. She didn't even pay attention to the specifics of their dancing. Hopefully, Keiko and Deidara were.

"Okay, that was really good. My main points are that Megumi you need to raise your hips in the beginning and during the whole dance make sure that your head doesn't bob. In fact, Deidara is going to dance it with you and he'll hold your head that way you will feel the resistance every time you bob." Keiko immediately took charge noticing that her best friend wasn't really focused. Megumi excitedly ran over to Deidara and pulled him onto the floor. He laughed and the two of them got into position.

"Itachi I think you just need to lighten up. So, you and Izumi will dance and I'll observe." Itachi seemed a little hesitant as he pulled Izumi onto the floor and the two of the them started to dance. Keiko would yell out random things for him to work on and Izumi would try her best to help him. There was tension in the air but Keiko decided not to mention anything and Izumi was immensely grateful. Izumi started making a few funny comments and loosened up her stance. She may have been struggling but she was still here to tutor Itachi so she would try her hardest to make him a better dancer. By the end of the thirty minute period he was loose and laughing.

"Okay! Let's have Itachi and Megumi back together to dance with music." Izumi started the music as the two of them danced much improved. It was amazing that it had only taken them thirty minutes to get a near perfect low level Samba together.

Deidara, Izumi, and Keiko clapped enthusiastically. "That was really great you guys! I think that if you just keep practicing like that it will all be okay. If you honestly don't make it up to at least the top three the judges are blind. So, we will just keep at it until the competition. We can discuss how often you actually need my help. Also, I'll be doing my own practice with Sasori so my schedule might get crazy."

"Fair enough. Are you staying for dinner tonight?" Megumi asked like she owned the house and Keiko frowned. It had been nearly a week of awkward eating with the Uchiha's. Shisui had been there everyday and he at least was normal and talkative. But she didn't really speak to Itachi and he pretty much ignored Shisui. Izumi really didn't want to stay and endure more of that and it appeared that Keiko could sense it.

"Sorry, but we already have something planned for dinner. We're going to the Akatsuki restaurant because Hidan owes me big time for having to edit that monstrosity of an English paper." Deidara laughed.

"True, we'll see you later, yeah." With that the group of three headed out the door and to Deidara's truck.

"Wait. You were serious about that?"

"Yep. Seems Hidan's foul mouth carries over to writing so it took me for freaking ever to edit it. I had to crash on their couch for the night. Do you know how scary it is to wake up at three am because Zetsu is having one of his 'I'm going to eat you' episodes?" Izumi couldn't help but laugh out loud at her best friend's pain. So that was the reason Keiko never came home a few weeks ago.

"Wow, how did you survive?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

* * *

Izumi and Keiko stayed pretty late eating and talking. Sasori and Deidara got into an argument about art and that was when they decided to peacefully bow out. Kisame finished his shift for the night and offered to give them a ride. Izumi looked out the window at all the buildings they passed as Keiko and Kisame discussed the upcoming wedding. Kisame looked at Izumi in the rear view mirror.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure? You seem like there is something heavily weighing on you."

"Nah, I'm good Kisame. Probably just tired. Your best friend has been working me to the bone with these dance tutoring sessions."

Kisame laughed. "Yeah, Itachi can be handful, but he's worth it."

"Yeah. . ."

Izumi trailed off and turned her gaze to the apartment complex that was coming into view. She missed the look Keiko gave her at her response but she couldn't be bothered to care. Keiko didn't try to talk to her once they were inside. They both just headed to bed and that was it.

Izumi had a lighter Friday schedule so she was home by the early afternoon working on whatever homework she could. Her mind kept replaying everything that had happened over the last few months. All the little moments with Itachi where it felt like they were the only two people in the room. The moments where it felt like he was falling a little bit in love with her. All the times that he seemed jealous at the attention she garnered from some of his closest friends. But despite all of that he was still in love with someone else. Those moments were probably all just in her mind and imagined.

But, that wasn't even the problem. It was slowly tearing her up inside whenever he was nice to her or accommodating in any way. The fact that he had shared his lunch with her and had wanted to make sure she was okay when she left the garden was too much. If Itachi was a jerk to her when they weren't dancing it would be much easier to be rational and convince herself that she wasn't in love with him. That it was just a physical attraction and nothing more. But that wasn't the case. He was too gentlemanly.

Then there was the way that he could school his emotions and actions and seem like nothing had ever even happened. Izumi wanted the ability to not be effected by all the things around her. She would have been able to better concentrate in her classes when she realized that she had feelings for him and she would have been better able to tutor him the last week. Honestly, the way he could be the same as always made her pissed.

Izumi slammed her textbook on her desk and then proceeded to throw things around while she got everything ready to go to the Uchiha's. It was four thirty and Keiko had been home for at least an hour but recognized Izumi needed her space so she was keeping to the living room. Izumi stomped into the living room and grabbed her ballroom shoes out of the dance bag in the corner where she tossed it after her practice with Sasori earlier that afternoon.

"You like him don't you?" Izumi stuffed her ballroom shoes into her backpack and stood up to head out the door.

"Of course I don't! I'm just helping him learn ballroom better so he can pass the class and keep the girl of his dreams. I have absolutely no romantic attachment to him at all." She turned on her heel and made her way toward his mansion off campus. She knew she was being harsh but she couldn't help it. There were too many emotions rolling through her and they were starting to spill out in angry waves. But Keiko would see through it all.

"Oh come on. You're so full of crap and you know it. That is a classic case of denial if I've ever seen one. You don't just like him you're in love with him. Why didn't you say anything to me?" Keiko caught up to her in no time and grabbed her backpack forcing Izumi to face her. "Since when did Megumi go from being his girlfriend to the girl of his dreams? You have it bad. And I can't believe that I haven't noticed it. Girl, it's eating up isn't it?"

Izumi looked at her with a sad expression as she sighed dejectedly. "But I can't do anything about it so it doesn't matter. I can't tell him. Like I said I am just helping him with his ballroom and then I'm out of the picture. The semester is already half over. I'm sure Itachi and Megumi still be going strong by the time the semester ends and I can then live with the memories of the past few months and eat my summer weight in ice cream." Keiko regarded her for several minutes with a sad expression and then giggled.

"Fine. But I'm helping and bringing movies!" The two girls laughed for a little bit then Keiko grabbed Izumi into a tight hug. "You tell me if anything happens from now on. I promise to stop being so busy because it looks like you've needed someone to talk to for a while. Does anyone else know?"

"Sasori." Izumi pulled away and fiddled with the straps of her bag as she stared at the ground. Keiko roughly grabbed Izumi's shoulders.

"You're telling me that puppet freak figured it out before I did? The person who people claim can feel others emotions?" She shook Izumi a few times. "Sasori noticed and I didn't? I am such a crappy friend."

Izumi chuckled as she pried Keiko's hands off her shoulders. "Honestly, it makes sense that he noticed before you. We've been spending a lot of time together because of dance practice. It was starting to effect my performance so he was pretty upset."

"That makes sense. Leave it to him to only figure out that you are in love with someone because it is effecting his art. I swear, how did we end up with the two art freaks as partners anyway?"

Izumi giggled and shrugged. "Our personalities balance each other out?"

Keiko snorted. "Yeah, okay. Anyway, are you going to be okay at practice today? You seemed pretty upset earlier. Did something big happen?"

Izumi thought about how to answer for several minutes. Keiko didn't try to rush her. There were several students rushing past them to various locations. A few of them looked at Keiko and Izumi curiously as they passed but neither girl cared.

"Last week on his mother's birthday we almost kissed."

"What?"

"Itachi and I were talking in the garden and he was asking me if I was dating Shisui or Sasori and he was pretty upset. I asked him what was wrong and then we were leaning closer and closer. I stopped him before it could happen."

Keiko was silent as she watched Izumi. Her eyebrows were knit and it looked like she might cry any minute. "Iz. . ."

"It's okay. I should have never let it even get to that point. Gosh, I'm so stupid." Izumi grabbed her head angrily. She felt like she could scream at any minute. Keiko moved forward to placate her friend but was stopped by Izumi pulling her hands down. She still looked upset but like she had a better handle on it.

"I'll be fine."

"Do you need me to come to the session today?"

Izumi shook her head. "I can do this. I'm strong enough to do this. It'll be over soon anyway."

With that Izumi turned on her heel headed to the mansion. Keiko watched her walk for several minutes with a sad look on her face before she turned back into their dorm.

* * *

"Ah, Miss Izumi welcome back! Dinner tonight is at seven and he's already waiting in the ballroom." Izumi smiled Frank. The first genuine smile she had given someone all week. She loved talking to him. He always said the right things to put a smile on her face. Izumi figured that was the kind of personality you end up with when you serve a household of stoic Uchihas.

"Thanks, but I'm not sure that I'm staying for dinner again tonight. I feel that maybe I spend too much time here."

"Nonsense, Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha would never allow me to let you go home without dinner. They care about you too much." He smiled down at her as she nodded her acceptance of dinner and made her way to the ballroom.

Itachi was alone in the middle of the ballroom with his arms up running through the moves of the Samba. He seemed to be concentrating rather hard and Izumi tried not to laugh at how cute his face was scrunched up. Realizing her train of thought Izumi scanned around the whole room looking for any sign of Megumi. It appeared that she wasn't there today. That was odd. She'd been coming to practice every day for the last two months almost She had been practically glued to Itachi's side since they started dating.

"Is Megumi not joining us today?" Itachi stopped moving and looked up at Izumi. He smiled a radiant smile before he spoke. The butterflies in her stomach kicked up and wouldn't stop. Why did he always have to smile at her like that? Especially when he was dating someone else? Izumi tried to not let it get to her. Hadn't she just told Keiko that she was strong enough to handle everything? She took a deep breath as she continued into the room to put down her backpack and put on her dance shoes.

"She had a review tonight for Biology. Besides, she said that she probably won't come to many more practices. She's got a lot of studies and she's been practicing with some other people in class as well. We already spend so much time together so I told her it was okay." His smile widened and he moved closer to Izumi and held out his hand. "Shall we?"

Izumi tried not to wince at the gesture. It innocent enough since they were dancing but she didn't want to touch him. The image of the two of them moving closer and closer on the garden bench were still too fresh in her mind. She had to remind herself that was only going to be in his life for another two months. That was it. She could withstand a few more touches.

"All right, since it's just you we'll just focus on things that you could be doing better individually. So let me think. Ah, yes! You're doing pretty good with the Samba but like I said in the Rumba you need to move your hips better. Do you remember what I told you about the hips last time?" He frowned down at her and took a step back before speaking.

"I thought I was doing a good job with the hips. Crap! There's just so much to remember." Izumi laughed and pulled him closer as she put her hands on his hips again without thinking about their close proximity for once. She was in tutor mode.

"Don't worry, you'll work through this so many times that by the time the test and competition come up it'll be second nature to you. Okay?" He nodded "Okay, now move like this." She took her hands and gently guided his hips into the right position in time to the Samba music playing in the background. Okay, she was in tutor mode until those impossibly dark eyes began boring into hers. Izumi averted her eyes to his hips instead and watched the movement.

 _He has a girlfriend. He has a girlfriend. He has a girlfriend._

"Izumi?"

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?" He put his hands on her wrists and she stopped moving to look up at him.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"You just seem far away like you're thinking about something. What's up? I know that we've been kind of on rocky footing the last week but I thought everything was okay?" Izumi swallowed. Was she really that far away that Itachi noticed? She kept studying his eyes and realized that was worried and she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. There was no way that she could tell him everything she was thinking about. It would ruin the delicate friendship they had built. She wasn't ready to crumble that just yet.

"Yeah, I'm totally fine. I guess I'm probably just thinking about midterms and stuff. And we are okay. No worries on that front." Itachi kept observing at her. She could tell that he didn't completely believe what she was saying.

"Well, if you're sure that's all it is. . ." He took his hands off of hers but his gaze didn't break. Izumi never thought she would tire from those black eyes staring intently at her but he hadn't even blinked while observing her for the last few minutes. It was like looking into Sasori's penetrating gaze and she looked down at her watch and saw that it was 6:55. Thank goodness she had been running late because of her talk with Keiko.

"Ah, better get going. Your mom will kill me if I don't come to dinner on-time." She smiled her normal smile at Itachi and headed to take her shoes off. He headed to another part of the wall to take his off as well. They didn't talk. She could tell that he was still watching her. He wanted to know what was up but she didn't want to talk. What would she have said?

 _Oh, actually I'm madly in love with you but you're dating that other girl that I actually made you a better dancer for and stuff and being near you is really hard and all I can think about it what our kiss could have been like so yeah._

Yeah, that sounded real cool.

They walked to the dining room and both Sasuke and Sakura were sitting at the table. They said their hellos and then took their seats waiting for the parents. She didn't say anything but just stared down at her plate. Sasuke took a strand of Sakura's hair and started playing with it as they laughed. Izumi tried not to let it get to her but she could tell that she was grimacing. Goodness, did they have to be so freaking cute? Didn't they know that she was having a relationship crisis and she really didn't need this right now?

Itachi leaned toward her and she made no attempt to change her facial expression. Sasuke kissed Sakura's nose lightly and Izumi rolled her eyes. "Are you really sure you're okay? You're grimacing at my little brother and his girlfriend. Did someone break up with you or something? It wasn't Shisui was it?"

Izumi turned her burning gaze to Itachi and could see that he was being one hundred percent sincere. Why was he so dense? Hadn't she already told him that she wasn't dating anyone? "I guess you could say they weren't interested in me but someone else and today I'm handling it way worse than normal. And no, it isn't Shisui. I already told you that I am not interested." That seemed to shut him up from asking any other questions and he moved back to his seat as his parents walked in.

The meal was pretty painless. Itachi didn't try to talk to Izumi again and his parents could see that there was a little friction but they didn't mention it. Itachi talked to his parents and to Sasuke and Sakura easily like nothing had happened and Izumi sat quietly eating and avoiding everyone's gaze. She could feel that Mikoto was watching her intently but Izumi couldn't handle smiling like nothing was wrong at the moment. Dinner was over pretty soon and Izumi picked up her backpack and headed to the door.

"Thank you once again Frank for having me in this fine estate." Izumi loved how much she could joke with Frank and put on fake graces. It was so much fun and she liked having someone who would play along with her especially in her current mood.

Itachi followed her to the door but wasn't sure what to say to her. Izumi hoped he wouldn't say anything that would set her off again so she took the initiative and put on her best fake smile. "Well, I guess I'll be back same time on Monday. Okay?" He simply nodded at her question and she headed out the door.

Izumi walked as fast as she could back to her dorm. Keiko was out picking out centerpieces with Rin and Obito so she had the place to herself. Izumi had already finished her homework for her other classes so she stretched out on her bed and decided to watch a movie. She put on some chick flick that had great music and witty lines that she always loved but she wasn't completely watching.

She couldn't imagine what Itachi must be thinking right now. She told him basically that he was her problem but was he smart enough to figure that out? He knew he was good looking and he knew that he could probably make any girl fall in love with him, right? He was credited as being a prodigy and the smartest Uchiha that had ever lived. But he had proven to be dense sometimes when it came to dating. Maybe he still thought she was dating Sasori or Shisui and now was upset because they had broken her heart. She just wished that she hadn't fallen into the Itachi trap. She wished Rin had never set this up. It was proving to be more heartbreak than she could handle.

Her phone buzzed a few times and she picked it up thinking that it was Keiko on her way home or asking for her opinion on something. "Yes love?" She always referred to Keiko like this and she knew that everyone knew that.

Someone slightly coughed on the other end. "Um, Izumi?"

Izumi almost dropped her phone. She tapped the space bar of her computer to pause the movie and sat up a little bit. Why hadn't she checked the caller ID before answering? "Itachi? Why are you calling me?" She couldn't understand what would make him want to call her after their somewhat awkward conversation and her suddenly cold attitude.

"Well, I realize that we had a little bit of an interesting conversation earlier but I have to know. Who is this guy?"

Izumi sat for a few minutes trying to collect her thoughts. What was she supposed to answer? _Um, you. DUH!_ She couldn't say that. There was no way she could say that. Maybe if she knew why he wanted to know she could decide how to answer his question.

"Why?"

"Because I am going to find him and beat the crap out of him."

"I'm sorry, what?" Izumi sat up straighter. She couldn't believe she just heard those words come out of his mouth. Itachi was always so gentle if not a little it intense but never violent. Why was he suddenly so enraged that he was wanting to beat someone else up?

"You heard me. Who does this idiot think he is breaking your heart and picking someone else over you? You're the most incredible girl that I've ever met and if he thinks that he can get away with making you feel like that, or if he thinks that anyone else is better than you, he's wrong."

Izumi could feel the anger of his words. He meant everything he had just said. He seethed on the other end waiting for her to say something. She had to tell him. Even if her better judgment was telling her otherwise she had to do it.

"Itachi. . . " He waited on the other line. "You can't beat him up no matter what you do."

"Like heck I can't just watc—"

"No, you can't unless you can split into two people."

There was a long pause.

"What?"

"It's you. You're the idiot that broke my heart by dating someone else."

Izumi let out a long breath. She did it. She had finally confessed to him her feelings and could now breathe a little easier knowing that he now knew. It felt like a huge weight had lifted off her chest. Now he would know why she had been acting so differently lately and why every time they got closer she pushed him away. What a freeing feeling. Izumi would laugh if she wasn't so terrified by what his reaction was going to be. He sat on the other line. Izumi thought that he was probably processing what she had just said. She really wished that he would say something instead of just letting it sit there but he didn't.

"Itachi? You still there? Itachi?" There was nothing on the other line except his quiet breathing, "Well I suppose it's pretty late now so I'm going to bed. Goodnight." She hung up the phone. He never tried to stop her. She had no idea what that meant but she resumed her movie and waited for Keiko to get home. Goodness, there was going to be so much to tell her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Pull Me in Gently**

 _Chapter 9_

* * *

"You did what?!" Keiko was almost hysterical but Izumi could tell that she was also excited. "What did he say?"

"He didn't say anything. He literally just sat on the phone for several minutes and I told him I wanted to go to bed and hung up." Izumi stared at the ceiling as she lay in her bed. Keiko was changing out of her clothes and into pajamas.

"Are you kidding me? He was freaking speechless? He's freaking Itachi Uchiha. He's never speechless. He can smooth talk anyone and he's never had a problem when girls tell him that they're interested. What did you do to him?" Keiko sat on her bed and now stared at Izumi. Izumi turned her head to look at her.

"I'm not sure but I told you what he said he wanted to do to the guy that broke my heart. I'm sure he's just confused. That's all. This will all blow over by tomorrow. I'm sure. At least. . . I hope it does. Otherwise our ballroom session is going to be really uncomfortable." Keiko snorted and crawled under her covers.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see what happens."

* * *

Izumi woke up on Saturday morning feeling groggy and more than a little nervous. Her conversation with Itachi played back in her head and she was glad that there were at least two days before she had to confront him.

She got up and got dressed and quickly ate breakfast. Keiko was nowhere to be seen but that was classic Keiko. She could go to bed at four am and be ready to go by seven. Izumi decided to take advantage of the quiet of the apartment for a while and sat down to do her homework. She managed to blitz through all of it in just a few hours and closed her last book right as the door swung open.

Keiko panted and she had a crazed look in her eye. She moved into the room, slamming the door, and then collapsed on the couch. Izumi raised her eyebrows at her best friend.

"Where have you been all morning?"

Keiko sighed and turned to look at her then sat up quickly and started talking animatedly. "Somewhere that only exists in my worst nightmares."

Izumi's brow furrowed. "And that is. . . ?"

"I somehow got roped into helping Rin build some things for her wedding. Like backdrops and crap."

"I don't think you can call it being roped in if you're the maid of honor."

"Oh whatever!" Keiko flailed her arms around. "Anyways, building is not my strong suit so I went in with the notion to paint. Which I did."

"So what's the problem?" Izumi placed all her homework materials on the coffee table and stretched out her legs.

"The problem? Rin freaking invited Kakashi. KAKASHI!"

"Wait, like her best friend? Like that one that she's been trying to hook you up with?"

Keiko nodded her head up and down vigorously. "Yeah, and somehow Rin was suddenly called to another part of the prep so we were all alone and awkward for a few minutes. I swear I'm going to kill her for ambushing me like that. I mean look at me!"

Izumi looked her best friend up and down. She was wearing crappy ripped jeans and an old hoodie so she could paint. Her hair was thrown up into a messy bun. Not exactly a good first impression. But hadn't Keiko not really wanted to date anyone? Especially Kakashi?

"Wait. You're upset she ambushed you and not that you had to be alone with Kakashi? Does that mean you like him?"

Keiko's eyes widened a little and she started to fidget with her hoodie. "Well. . . he's really attractive and it was awkward at first but then we got talking and we really hit it off. At least I think so. He's hilarious and just has this awesome lazy sort of demeanor but he's still a really hard worker."

Izumi nodded and a small smile erupted on her face. She hadn't seen her best friend like this in a really long time. Not since Haruki broke her heart. "But?"

"But. . . he is a lot older than me and he's not exactly looking for anything right now. He told me that he goes on lots of dates but he's not interested in anything serious. Which is cool. Being friends with him could be a good thing. But there's just something about him that I want to spend time with him and stuff ya know?"

Izumi stared down at the floor as Keiko finished. Oh, she knew. She felt that all the time when she thought about Itachi and how much time he spent with Megumi and she was just there to teach him how to dance and that was it. Keiko sighed again and flopped back into the couch.

"I know you know. I'm sure that's how you feel about Itachi. Well, anyway, I finished all my homework this morning before I left so I'm free and you appear to be free so I vote we have a girls night and call everyone over and just binge watch chick flicks and eat crappy food."

"I second that." Izumi pulled out her phone and immediately began texting all of their friends.

Soon their apartment was filled with several girls ranging in various ages. There was Tenten, Temari, Karin, Rin and a few of Keiko's and Izumi's cousins. Mean Girls played in the living room and Keiko grabbed plates for the pizza while Izumi poured drinks.

Izumi sighed as she set about her task. This was exactly what she needed to get her mind off of a certain Uchiha and help her calm down. A little girl time and chatting about everyone else's problems as well as her own would do wonders.

Rin sauntered into the kitchen with an armful of pizza boxes and set them on the counter that led into the living room. She turned and smiled at the two of them. "This was a great idea! I really don't get all that much girl time since my two best friends are guys."

"Speaking of your best friends, what the heck was that this morning? Why didn't tell me you were introducing me to Kakashi? I looked like a freaking train wreck." Keiko pointed the stack of plates at her cousin.

"Why Keiko dear, I thought you wouldn't come if I had told you. But from your last comment it appears that everything went well between you two?" Rin's smile turned into a knowing smirk and she looked at Izumi who giggled.

"Izumi you traitor!" Keiko threw a dish towel at her and Izumi laughed even harder. This time Rin joined in.

"And you and Itachi? How is that going?" Izumi instantly stopped laughing and turned as white as a sheet. Rin raised a brow.

"He's dating someone in his dance class and last night on the phone Izumi spilled the beans that she likes him."

Rin stared wide eyed at Izumi. "Well I can appreciate a woman with the guts to say that! I assume you two haven't talked about it since then?" Izumi shook her head. "Well that's all right! Tonight we are going to forget that it happened and that Keiko is too afraid to date my best friend."

"Wait, how did you?"

Rin smiled at Keiko. "I know everything. But anyway, we are going to have a great time!"

* * *

Sunday was quiet and both Izumi and Keiko were excited about that. Mostly everyone had stayed the night last night and no one got to sleep until four in the morning. By the time they finished breakfast and everyone else left Keiko and Izumi crashed into their beds.

It was late afternoon by the time they were back in the land of the living. Keiko read a book perched on the couch closest to the sun and Izumi decided that she would use this time to work on a personal project. She was designing a dress for both her and Keiko to wear to the upcoming Dance competition. The two of them were both in second level class and had decided it would be more fun to have dresses that actually looked good. Usually they just found a skirt and a somewhat nice shirt in their closets and called it good. But this time they were looking to feel good too.

Izumi drew out the sketches and then Keiko would help her sew what parts she needed. It was going to be a group effort. They weren't allowed to wear anything flashy so they would be simple but great for dancing. She would be competing in the Rumba and Keiko was competing in the Paso Doble. Izumi tried her best to focus so she wouldn't think of Itachi and it worked for quite a while until she decided that she should help him pick out his outfit for the competition as well.

Then it was Monday and Izumi's heart hammered in her chest everywhere she went on campus. She frantically looked around for any sign of Itachi as she walked to her classes and ate her lunch. She had seen him before and she was hoping that today he would be absent. And he was. She took a deep breath as she headed out of the school and down the street toward the Uchiha mansion.

In no time she was through the door and laughing like always with the butler but once she headed down the hall things were different. Izumi swallowed hard as she made her way to the ballroom. Frank wasn't any different but she was nervous. What was going to happen when she saw him? What if he was upset? What if he was awkward? What if? What if? She couldn't think anymore. She just needed to get this over with.

Izumi entered the ballroom and noticed he wasn't here yet. Frank did say that he was doing some schoolwork in his room so she set her stuff next to the stereo and put her shoes on. Today they were going to go through both of the dances they worked on up to this point. She did that every Monday so that he wouldn't forget the Rumba for his final. It also helped her re-gauge what his level was. Izumi stood and scrolled through the music to look for the right songs. They'd start with the Rumba and then do the Samba. Hopefully the Rumba wouldn't be too awkward after last weekend.

There was a slight shuffling of footsteps behind her and Izumi turned around. Itachi was walking toward her. He had a determined look in his eye and his dance shoes were hanging loosely in his right hand.

"Hey."

That was all she could manage to say. He didn't say anything and just kept walking toward her. Izumi was a little nervous. She'd only ever seen that expression on his face when he was trying to understand a specific dance concept that was particularly troubling him. Izumi fought the urge to take a step back. Itachi dropped his dance shoes and kept walking.

"Wha—" He cut her off by grabbing her face in his hands and slamming his lips onto hers. She was surprised but only for a minute before she melted into the kiss and returned it. He moved his left hand to wrap around her waist and pull her closer. Her mind was fuzzy which was good because it was drowning out all of her questions about what the heck was going on. Itachi leaned more into the kiss. She could tell that this was not just a sympathy kiss for what he had put her through. The kiss was filled with desire and want. After several minutes he pulled away slowly.

Izumi slowly opened her eyes unsure of what she would see on his face. He looked at her sweetly and with his right hand still on her face he moved his thumb back and forth. She swallowed and found her voice again.

"What are you doing?" It came out weaker than she expected but she didn't mind when she saw his slight smile.

"Something I should have done a long time ago. I've been crazy about you since our second week. I was just too afraid that you weren't interested." He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"What about Megumi?" Had he forgotten that he had a girlfriend?

"We broke up a last week at the end of practice. She could tell that I was actually in love with you. Besides, she said there was someone else she also had her eye on. It was almost too perfect." Izumi sighed. She couldn't believe that Itachi had just kissed her and that he'd been crazy about her as long as she had been for him. This was really happening, right? Izumi reached up and lightly pinched her arm. Itachi laughed.

"Izumi, I feel the same way but I can assure you that this is not a dream." He leaned down and kissed her again. "What do you say we run through those dances and then we just talk until dinner?" Izumi nodded her head and pressed play.

* * *

When they walked into the dining room holding hands everyone looked up at them. Izumi tried her best not to blush. They had become like family to her over the past few months so she definitely shouldn't have been embarrassed by holding one of their sons hands. Mrs. Uchiha looked up at them and smiled. "It's about time you two."

Izumi looked at Itachi with wide eyes. "Um, sorry, what?"

Mikoto laughed and Fugaku chuckled. "We've been waiting for the two of you to get together for the last month. It's about time that it happened. Now, let's eat!" Izumi and Itachi smiled as they looked at each other and took their seats at the table. It finally felt like everything had gotten back to where it was in February. She was finally where she wanted to be.


	10. Chapter 10

**Pull Me in Gently**

 _Chapter Ten_

* * *

Izumi fussed with the sleeves of her dress. It was a tan color and she had made the sleeves long and slit up the side so they would flow as her and Sasori danced the Rumba. He wore soft khakis that were the same color as her dress and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. She wanted them to look like they were as comfortable as possible and as plain as possible so the judges would focus on their dancing.

Keiko stood next to her and added a cream colored flower into Izumi's pinned back tresses. Izumi surveyed the plain maroon dress that Keiko sported that was almost to the floor with an uneven hemline. Her sleeves were long and tight all the way to her wrists. Deidara wore a black shirt that had a maroon collar and cuffs with black pants. Izumi couldn't help but smile at her work. She really had made the perfect outfits for the competition that were not sparkly or eye-catching but the right outfit nonetheless.

Itachi was set to compete with Megumi just before Izumi and he was wearing black pants with a bright green shirt. She had even managed to convince him to roll the sleeves up and leave the shirt unbuttoned a few buttons. She wanted him to be eye catching and it was certainly working. Every girl he walked passed gasped and tried to follow him. He would roll his eyes every time and pull Izumi closer. She had to admit that she loved that.

They were waiting near the backstage area. Itachi was competing first and then Izumi. The two of them were back to back. Keiko was going on after them back to back with the tango. Izumi looked into the stands and noticed that there was a rather large section filled with the Uchihas (Fugaku, Mikoto, Obito, Shisui, and a few others), Naruto, Sakura, Kisame, Hidan, Zetsu, Kakuzu, Pein, Konan, Rin, and Kakashi. They were sitting in the middle of the stands and Izumi smiled to herself. Most of them were there to see her and Itachi. She had been so welcomed into his family and friend group that she thought she might burst.

"Why are they all here?" Sasori rolled his eyes as he too found the group of people in the stands.

"Because they're here to see me, yeah."

"Yeah whatever. If anything they are here to see the girls."

Deidara agreed that Sasori had a point right as Izumi elbowed Keiko. "Is your boyfriend going to read the whole competition?"

Keiko pushed Izumi's elbow away. "He's not my boyfriend. Everyone knows that."

"Actually we all think it's the opposite, yeah." Deidara crossed his arms in an attempt to be intimidating as he interrogated his dance partner.

"Not you too." Keiko rolled her eyes and looked at the ceiling. "We're not dating. We barely even talk so can you leave it alone?"

"We'll leave it alone when the two of you stop being so oblivious." Itachi materialized out of nowhere and wrapped his arms around Izumi's waist from behind. He rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You're one to talk. The two of you were so oblivious you tried to date other people meanwhile did the steamiest Rumba I've ever seen." Keiko pointed at Itachi who looked a small amount of embarrassed.

"Whatever. We figured it out eventually."

"Thank goodness. I can't have a distracted dance partner!" Sasori griped as the loud speaker sounded and announced the Samba couples to the floor.

"Good luck. You are going to do great if you just remember everything I told you." Izumi kissed Itachi on the cheek and he ran ahead to meet up with Megumi.

The four waiting in the wings moved to the side so they could better see Itachi dance. Before the music started he plastered a goofy grin on his face and Megumi giggled in response. Izumi grinned as well.

"There it is! That's what we taught him, yeah." Deidara smiled at Keiko and she returned it with a 'heck yeah!'

The music started and Itachi and Megumi instantly connected and started working the crowd. You could see it too. There were people standing up and cheering and Itachi even chanced a wink at his mother. Izumi's whole face filled with her smile as everyone ate it up. Soon they were finished and the next level Rumba was called out to perform. Keiko gave Sasori and Izumi quick hugs.

"Good luck out there guys. You are gonna nail it. You have the best chemistry out of everyone."

"Knock 'em dead, yeah."

With that Sasori led Izumi out onto the dance floor. He positioned them right under a spotlight close to the judges table. They instantly got their attention but soon Izumi ignored everything around her except Sasori and the music. They danced, slowly, sensually, and perfect. The crowd held their breath as the couples on the floor danced their heart out. The atmosphere was definitely different than that of the Samba.

The song ended and Sasori very slowly spun Izumi out and they were the last couple still out on the floor bowing. Everyone clapped and screamed for them. Izumi looked up in the crowd and saw Sakura with hearts in her eyes and Rin standing on her feet. She giggled at Mikoto's smile and then they headed off the stage.

"That was fantastic! Itachi made it to the second round so he's going out on the floor. He wanted me to tell you that he couldn't keep his eyes off of you and that he had no idea you two were that mesmerizing." Keiko smiled at Izumi and gave her a big hug.

The competition continued and the finals in both the Samba and the Rumba finished. All of the couples were standing on the dance floor. Izumi stood in-between Sasori and Itachi. Itachi held her hand as they both anxiously waited for the results. The results of the Samba were first.

"And now the winners of the Samba. . ." There was a heavy silence in the room as everyone waited to see who the winners were. Izumi could feel the Uchihas and everyone else in the group behind her holding their breath. "Itachi Uchiha and Megumi Otto!"

Izumi squealed and was instantly caught up in a tight hug with Itachi. He kissed her fully on the mouth and then headed to the front to receive his trophy. Izumi was breathless and was standing with her mouth agape. Sasori laughed and leaned over.

"Was that your first kiss in public with Itachi?" Izumi could only nod her head. Itachi turned around and beamed at everyone in the room before his gaze landed on Izumi. He took in her expression and then seemed to remember what he had done in his excitement. His ears colored the smallest amount and Sasori laughed harder.

"And now for the Samba." Izumi grabbed Sasori's hand and the two of them took a deep breath looking at each other.

Third place was announced and their grip grew tighter. Izumi's eyes met with Itachi and he smiled at her. "You got this." He mouthed to her and she nodded. She was feeling so good. Even if her and Sasori got second she would still be ecstatic.

"And now the winners of the Rumba. . ." Izumi closed her eyes. "Sasori Akasuna and Izumi Uchiha!" Izumi squealed and hugged Sasori with all her might as the two of them made their way forward. They shook hands with the other winners and then accepted their trophy. Izumi was all smiles.

"Ladies and gentlemen, here are your winners for the Samba and the Rumba!" The room exploded in claps and cheers and once everyone quieted down Izumi made her way over to Itachi. He grabbed her in a hug and spun her around a few times. Then he set her down gently and once again reclaimed her lips in a kiss.

Izumi felt like she might melt into the floor with the contact but the feeling was broken as she heard a wolf whistle. "Get it!" She tore away from Itachi and the two of them chuckled as they saw Hidan standing and swirling his jacket around.

"Maybe we should take our seats."

"That sounds like a good idea." Izumi chuckled at Itachi and the two of them headed to the bleachers. Izumi took the seat to the right of Kakashi and Itachi sat next to her. Sasori sat behind them next to Kisame.

"You two were absolutely fantastic!" Mikoto made her way to them the instant they took their seats. She hugged them both tightly and Izumi laughed at her antics. There were cheers from the others in their section and several people patted Izumi on the back and shouted their congratulations as well. Izumi felt like a rockstar and couldn't help beaming even more.

"Thank you mother."

"And thanks everyone else too!"

"I knew the minute you were on the floor which couples would win. You definitely picked well when you chose Izumi as your dance tutor." Mikoto winked as she made her way back to her seat.

"You really did pick the right tutor." Izumi turned to look at Rin who had her tongue sticking out in a childish fashion.

"Will the competitors of the Paso Doble please enter the floor." Izumi snickered as Kakashi instantly shut his book and placed it in his lap. Obviously somebody was only here for Keiko. Rin turned her attention to the floor as well. I zumi shook her head and focused on the people walking onto the dance floor.

Deidara lead Keiko out on the floor and Izumi was instantly drawn into their performance. They were already in character and the music hadn't started. Deidara threw his arm and Keiko spun into place. The two of them had intense looks on their faces and a hush fell over the room. The music started and Keiko and Deidara instantly flew into a passionate fight for dominance. Izumi's eyes widened as she watched her best friend dance beautifully.

Itachi intertwined his fingers with hers and she leaned onto his arm a little. It felt so nice to be here with Itachi after all the crap that happened. Itachi smiled down at Izumi as she rested in his arms. The dance finished and the room exploded in cheers again. Kakashi clapped loudly and Rin stood up and whooped. Izumi clapped and she watched as Deidara and Keiko kept up their facade. They were the best out there no doubt about it.

"Wasn't my cousin fantastic? And super hot?" Rin leaned over and nudged Kakashi who was still watching Keiko walk off the floor with Deidara. Izumi laughed as Itachi leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

"Rin is absolutely ridiculous. Why is she trying to matchmake them so much?"

Izumi kept her gaze on Kakashi as she answered. "I honestly want to say it's because she is so happy with Obito that she wants those around her to be happy too. But, I think she might just be bored and want to mess with her best friends."

Itachi nodded and watched Kakashi as well. He had yet to answer Rin's statement. It was silent as Rin just stared at Kakashi. "Well?"

"Rin, leave it alone." Kakashi rolled his eyes and pulled out his book again.

"See? He's agitated." Izumi sank further into Itachi's arm. He shook his head.

"I disagree. He likes her but he's not sure what to do about it and Rin isn't helping anything."

Someone cleared their throat to Izumi's left and she turned her head from looking at Itachi to Kakashi. He regarded her over the edge of his book. "I can hear you two you know."

Izumi colored and had the decency to look sheepish. Itachi however just sat there smirking. "I hit the nail on the head didn't I?"

Kakashi sighed and shut his book and then turned slightly toward the pair of them. "What if you did? So what?"

"So what? This is my best friend's love life we're talking about! I want her to be happy." Izumi narrowed her eyes at him. Itachi chuckled.

"We were just observing. Move at your own pace and do your own thing. After all we'd be hypocritical to say anything else."

Kakashi snorted at Itachi. "You think this was completely your own doing? Who was it that got the two of you hooked up for dancing in the first place?"

Izumi thought about it for a minute and then it hit her. Rin. Rin had set this whole thing up and when she confronted her about it there was something in her smile that wasn't right. Not to mention the way she was acting earlier with her teasing. "No way. You planned this whole thing?!" Izumi leaned over Kakashi and pulled on Rin's arm.

Rin stuck her tongue out again then smirked at her. "Of course I planned this. The two of you are perfect for each other and you cannot deny that. Look at ya!" Izumi turned her head and looked at the chuckling face of Itachi. Sure Rin had set this up but they were extremely happy and it was working out. So who really cared?

"Keiko and Deidara are dancing again so if you wouldn't mind getting off me?" Kakashi nudged Izumi who smiled mischievously as she leaned back into her seat and against Itachi's side as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Oh, Kakashi really had it bad for her best friend.

Keiko and Deidara made it into the finals and were now standing on the floor clutching each others hand tightly as they awaited their results. Everyone in the stands was doing the same. "And now the winners of the Paso Doble. . ." Izumi held her breath. "Deidara Iwa and Keiko Nohara!" Izumi shouted and with everyone else was on her feet clapping. Kakashi clapped with full vigor even though he wasn't shouting she could see the joy on his face. Sasori was screaming artistic insults as he stood.

Keiko and Deidara turned around with their trophy and posed to get the crowd laughing. It was the perfect ending to their day of dance competition. Everyone sat back down as they waited for Deidara and Keiko to make their way to the stands. Itachi watched all the people on the dance floor moving around and talking. Izumi smiled at him.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Who would have thought that ballroom dancing would have brought me you? Crazy to think that the competition is finally over and now all there is is the final test. Thank you Izumi for being willing to help me out."

"Of course. It was a lot of fun." Izumi smiled brightly just as Deidara and Keiko entered the stands. There were a few more cheers and everyone hugged them.

"Okay, Okay, since we have five dance champions and one of the largest cheering sections I have ever seen we are going to close Akatsuki down for a private party today for all of you!" Kisame shouted over the noise. Everyone cheered again and Kakuzu mumbled something about losing money because of this. Izumi smiled as she headed outside into Itachi's car.


	11. Chapter 11

**Pull Me in Gently**

 _Chapter 11_

* * *

"Would you stop that annoying tapping? It's driving me nuts." Sasori snapped as Izumi absentmindedly drummed her fingers on the arm rest next to her.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. I was zoning out."

"About what exactly? Aren't things going well for you?"

Izumi slumped a little in her chair and closed her eyes. A small smile crept its way on her face. Sasori smirked as he watched it happen.

"Well that answers my question. So, what were you thinking about?"

"Just the fact that we have our final today and that's it. The semester's over and things are going to be different."

"I see." Sasori placed his arm around the back of her chair and Izumi cracked one eye open to look at her. "So, you're afraid what is going to happen with Itachi now that you won't have school?"

Izumi nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm just afraid that everything will get weird or something. Like we'll never have any time for each other."

"Well, you're not going anywhere this summer because of the wedding and your job and Itachi will be here working. Not much will change. It'll be all right. Besides, your relationship isn't just some superficial thing. I know you both and I can see that."

"Thanks Sasori. You know, you really are a great friend. You always know what to say to make me feel better. Which, I have to be honest, is weird since your always so grumpy."

Sasori rolled his eyes but wasn't able to respond as the door next to them swung open and they were called in to dance for their final. Izumi tried to internalize what he had said but she was still nervous. Was their relationship really deep enough already that they would be okay? Izumi shook her head and took a deep breath. For now she would ignore it and finish her finals.

* * *

Izumi laid on the floor of the library where she normally studied with everyone. The sun streamed through the window and she stretched like a cat in the rays. Keiko sighed to her left as they looked at the golden ceiling above them. Itachi sat perched in one of the fluffy maroon chairs on her right with a book in his hand.

"So, your finals went okay?" Keiko moved her arms behind her head.

"Yeah, they were all right. Sasori and I got almost a perfect score for our ballroom final and for one of my major classes I got a high A. What about you?"

"Pretty good. Deidara and I got a perfect score on our Paso and did okay on the other two. We were more interested in having fun with the dance then getting the steps right. But, I did manage to do well in my other classes and I got a high A on the project that I've been working on all semester."

"I'm glad this semester is over. I felt like I never saw you. I'm glad that you won;t have a wedding to help with next year."

Izumi moved and smiled at Itachi as Keiko adjusted her arms again. "Same here. I feel like I've been such a crappy friend this year. I mean, come on, all of your good advice came from Sasori this year."

Izumi laughed at Keiko's statement and Keiko joined in. There was silence in the room after their laughter died down. Both girls just admired the ceiling in the room and kept to their own thoughts. Izumi's drifted back to her conversation with Sasori earlier. Was he really right this time?

"I can't believe that someone actually lives like this and they want to date you."

Izumi jolted out of her thoughts and playfully nudged Keiko with her arm as Keiko stuck out her tongue. "At least someone _wants_ to date me."

"Ouch. Touche."

Itachi laughed lowly as he watched the interaction. Izumi heard him and sat up so that her back was next to his leg. He immediately reached forward and started playing with her hair.

"Ugh, you're so cute. I can't stand it. I'm gonna go see if they need any help with dinner." Keiko stood up quickly and turned down the hallway skipping a little and humming. She was definitely happy the semester was over.

It was quiet in the library with just Itachi and Izumi's breathing and the occasional page turn. Izumi watched the moving sunlight on the floor. It was the last day of finals and the Uchihas were having a big dinner for all of their friends so the house was going to be filled with food and merriment any minute but Izumi couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Talking with Sasori had eased her for the moment but it couldn't ease her worries completely. Things were going to be different and their relationship was still pretty new. He was going to be working with his dad this summer so he could be pretty busy. Izumi was going to be interning with the social work team that worked with the mayor and would be pretty busy herself.

Then again, she could just be blowing all of this out of proportion. She'd never dated much before and Itachi was an even tempered guy that she was sure wouldn't worry about nay of this. Izumi sighed and rested her head against the armrest of the chair.

Itachi noticed the change in Izumi's demeanor a few days ago but had just assumed it was stress about finals but now he was sure he knew what was bothering her. He closed his book and set it on the table in front of them.

"Come here." He reached down and pulled on Izumi's arm. She stood up and settled on Itachi's lap. He gently placed his hand on her face to ensure that she was looking at him. He could see the worry in her eyes. "I know what's going on and I assure you that you do not need to worry."

"Are you sure? Things are going to be harder now." Izumi tried to look away from Itachi's piercing gaze but he wouldn't let her.

"I'm sure. It will be difficult to find time to spend together but I intend to spend all of my free time with you. Izumi, I love you."

Izumi's heart stopped for half a second. Did she just hear him right? She had heard him say he was in love with her but he had never said those words before. Izumi looked into Itachi's eyes and saw the smile on his lips.

"I have to say, your reaction was better than any response you could have given." Izumi giggled and squeezed Itachi into a tight hug. She pulled back and smiled brightly at him.

"I love you too and I think you're right. We'll be okay and everything will work out."

"Indeed. Now, I believe we are needed in the ballroom." Izumi smiled as she kissed Itachi on the cheek and grabbed his hand.

This summer was going to be just fine. Her relationship with Itachi would be just fine. And tonight she was going to enjoy herself with her love.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 _Hey Everyone! Sorry this is so late! I knew that I wanted to end this story but I was unsure how I wanted to do that. So this is what I came up with. It's short and a little lame but I think it works well all the same. So, thanks for reading! :)_


	12. Bonus Chapter

**A/N:**

 _So. . . I love Keiko X Kakashi so I wrote this bonus chapter that digs a little deeper into them. Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Pull Me in Gently**

 _Bonus Chapter_

* * *

Izumi shook her head as she watched Keiko move around the room at an alarming rate. Rin and Obito's wedding had gone well and they looked incredibly happy. The dinner had just finished and the reception was well under way. Itachi was helping Shisui decorate the getaway car and Izumi was hoping to have some time with her best friend.

Unfortunately Keiko was in full stress mode. She was the maid of honor and had to make sure everything was running smoothly. But there seemed to be something else bothering her that made her stress even more annoying than normal.

Keiko sighed as she finally collapsed against the wall Izumi was leaning against. Izumi handed her a drink and Keiko took a few sips before handing it back. "Kei, isn't everything done already?"

"Yeah, it is for the most part."

"Then why are you still so frazzled?"

Keiko sighed and started using her hands animatedly. "Well the caterers are trying to get all the food figured out and the DJ needed some help with the song planning. And the best man is an idiot."

Izumi hid her chuckle by taking a drink. "Now I get it. What happened?"

"Well, the idiot."

"Kakashi."

"Fine, Kakashi. Whatever! He just is standing over there reading his stupid book like he can't be bothered to have fun or mingle or anything. And he had the audacity to be late this morning! Rin and I did plan a second schedule if he was late but I was hoping that we wouldn't have had to use it! Then, he tells me that for his speech he didn't plan anything and was just going to wing it. I could wring his neck. Honestly."

Izumi didn't hold back her laughter. "You're telling me that you and Rin actually made two schedules for the wedding?"

"Yep," Keiko straightened off of the wall "We planned a schedule in case Kakashi was late and an actual schedule that we were hoping to use. But you know which we ended up with. Come on!" Keiko grabbed Izumi's arm and pulled her toward where Kakashi was perched against an opposite wall.

"What are you doing?"

"We are going to get him to party."

"We?" Keiko ignored her and continued moving. Izumi let herself be dragged and rolled her eyes. Why was she being pulled into her best friends crazy, stress filled antics?

Keiko stopped right in front of Kakashi and he lowered his book a slight amount. He regarded them lazily until he realized who he was looking at. His eye widened slightly and he stood a little taller. Izumi immediately noticed his shift.

"Okay, what gives? Your best friends just got married and you're reading against the wall?"

"I was just passing the time. I was waiting for someone to stop running around." Izumi smiled at what Kakashi was insinuating. Keiko was so far gone she just ran right past what he had said.

"Well I don't see why you can't dance while you're waiting." Kakashi looked confused as Keiko grabbed his arm and Izumi's wrist and pulled them out onto the dance floor. "The two of you can dance!"

"Um, I kinda have Itachi. . ."

Keiko waved her hand back and forth. "Oh don't worry. He's busy decorating the car and besides he's not threatened by Kakashi at all. He won't mind." Keiko smiled and with that walked off in the direction of some of her family members conversing in another part of the room.

Izumi frowned and watched her best friend. What was up with her? Didn't she want to dance with Kakashi? Why was she making Izumi do it? Kakashi cleared his throat and held out his hand. Izumi turned her attention toward him.

"Might as well. We're already out here." Izumi shrugged and put her hand in his and her other hand on his shoulder. The two of them began swaying to the music. It was silent between the two of them as they tried to figure out what to say to each other. They had only spoken once and that was at the dance competition.

"You remember what we discussed at the dance competition?" Kakashi asked smoothly as he looked down at Izumi.

"Yep. It was about you liking my best friend."

"What if it was. . . true."

Izumi smiled knowingly. "I would be ecstatic."

Kakashi frowned and looked off to the side where Keiko conversed with her mom and Mikoto. "The problem is I don't know if I should do anything about it."

"What do you mean?" Izumi observed him and tried to discern what he was thinking but she was coming up short.

"I mean I can't even tell if she's interested and I just feel like she'll be expecting this grand romantic but all she'll be getting is me." He looked down at their feet for half a second before making eye contact with Izumi.

"I think you should go for it." Kakashi's eyes widened and he looked confused. "She's my best friend and I can honestly say that she's interested and that she won't care about the romance."

Kakashi snorted. "Yeah right. Every girl cares about that at least a little."

Izumi shook her head. "I'm sure that there will be times that she wants it but it's not a deal breaker."

"Okay, but you said she's interested. Why does she seem so far away if that is the case?"

Izumi chewed on her lip for a few seconds and debated whether she should tell Kakashi what she was thinking. She looked at Keiko laughing in the corner and realized that she truly wanted her best friend to be happy.

"She seems far away because she's afraid of getting hurt." Kakashi raised his eyebrows in interest. "When we were freshman Keiko met this guy named Haruki. They were best friends and eventually started dating. They were happy but it was tumultuous. There was another girl that he was really close too and it was borderline cheating in the way he would ditch Keiko for her. Keiko didn't want to seem like a controlling and jealous girlfriend so she let them stay friends." Izumi glanced at Keiko.

"But all that while she was falling hard. They were making lots of future plans and they spent all of their free time talking to one another. Then after a few short months he came to see her and told her that he wasn't actually as in love with her as he thought. He was really just with her because he thought she was hot and everything was superficial."

Kakashi looked at Keiko and Izumi noticed the sadness in his eyes. She smiled sadly and continued on. "Keiko was okay for a few weeks. She was trying to deal with being without him but she missed him terribly. They had been best friends and now the nature of their relationship had changed. Well, a month after they separated he started dating that other girl and a month after that they got engaged. Then married not too long after that." Kakashi's eyes were wide.

"That fast?"

Izumi sighed. "Well. . . we found out right before they got married that the two of them had actually been dating prior and had separated for a while. That was when Keiko met him and they started dating. The truth was they were secretly engaged the whole time and had been for at least a year."

Kakashi's surprise was slowly morphing into anger and Izumi tapped his shoulder to calm him down. "How can someone be that selfish?"

"That was what I thought about it all. Keiko, however, was understanding. She at first couldn't understand it but realized that he was just as confused as she had been. There was nothing she did that made him break her heart. But break it he did. Keiko was devastated. She dated and stuff after that but now she has a hard time opening up to others. She doesn't want to ever feel like that again. And honestly I don't want to see her like that either."

Kakashi nodded. "Also, Haruki ran into her after he was married and told her that he had lied. He was actually in love with her completely but he felt like he needed to make things work with his fiancee. That tore Keiko up even more."

Kakashi silently watched Keiko as Izumi spoke. Izumi finished her story and watched him to see what he was going to say next. That would tell her what he actually felt for her best friend.

"She deserves better than that. Keiko is amazing and I think that she needs to realize that." Izumi's face split into a beautiful smile.

"I was hoping you would say that. Now, get over there and ask her to dance!" Izumi spun out of Kakashi's arms and pushed him toward Keiko.

Izumi had spotted Itachi sitting at a table close to where she was dancing and she made her way to the seat next to him. He pulled her closer and they threaded their fingers together. The two of them watched as Kakashi interrupted the three women and asked Keiko to dance. He then lead her onto the floor. Both of them had smiles on their faces.

"Do you think that was a good idea?" Izumi raised an eyebrow in Itachi's direction. "Telling your best friend's dating story to Kakashi?"

Izumi nodded. "From what I've been told and what I've learned about Kakashi, he has a lot of baggage and he has a hard time trusting people in his inner circle. Rin told me that he needed someone to love and to love him because he has been so starved for that his whole life. I think telling him about Keiko was a smart move. He realizes that he's not alone and that she needs love too."

"Well aren't you a little genius?" Itachi leaned over and kissed Izumi tenderly on the cheek. "Now, what do you say we get out on the floor and show all these other losers up?" Izumi giggled as Itachi led her onto the dance floor.


End file.
